Gaza death toll climbs to 74,609 as Israel pulls troops out of Hebron

Gaza's Health Ministry put the cumulative death toll from Israeli attacks since October 2023 at 74,609 on Monday. The ministry said another 11 Palestinians were killed and 38 wounded in the past 48 hours. Its injured count now stands at 175,872. A separate medical source told Anadolu Agency that four Palestinians were killed and 10 wounded on Monday alone.

Amid the fighting, the Israel Defense Forces said it killed two operatives from Hamas's Nukhba unit over the weekend. The military said it struck in the Khan Yunis area on Saturday, killing Muhammad Kamel Masleh Qadih, who it said infiltrated Kibbutz Nir Oz during the October 7 massacre and handled operational readiness for Nukhba fighters. In a second Saturday strike, the IDF said it killed Diaa Abd al-Mohsen Muhammad Abu al-Rous in the Nuseirat area.

In the occupied West Bank, Palestinian media reported Monday that Israeli troops had begun pulling out of several neighborhoods in Hebron. The raid there started on October 23, after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the city blocked following a shooting attack, displacing thousands of residents. Israeli media reported last week that IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir told Netanyahu there was no operational reason to keep the raid going and no legal basis for preventing residents from returning.

Israeli authorities also deported 13 foreign nationals on Sunday after arresting them for entering a closed military zone in the West Bank, according to Israeli media. Another foreign national was awaiting deportation over violations of IDF-imposed restrictions in Lubban al-Gharbiya, near Ramallah. A lawyer for the group told the Times of Israel the deportees were trying to reach the restricted area to help Palestinians harvest olives. One Australian woman was detained but will not be deported, the outlet reported, while a Portuguese journalist was also caught up in the sweep.

Elsewhere in the West Bank, the Palestinian Wafa news agency said Israeli forces entered the Old City of Nablus on Sunday and deployed across nearby neighborhoods and the commercial center. Wafa also reported that troops fired tear gas at the entrance to Al-Nabi Saleh, northwest of Ramallah, after setting up a checkpoint and searching vehicles, causing traffic jams but no injuries. Earlier, four Palestinians were arrested during a raid on Burin, south of Nablus, Wafa said.

The ministry's figures and the weekend strikes land as Israel's West Bank operations draw fresh scrutiny from rights groups and foreign governments. The reported pullback from Hebron is the first sign of a possible wind-down of a raid that reshaped daily life in the city for weeks. What happens to the displaced residents, and whether the withdrawal holds, is the next thing to watch.