The toll
Gaza's Health Ministry said on September 26 that the Palestinian death toll since October 7, 2023, has risen to 74,016, with 175,068 wounded, the Associated Press reported. The ministry does not distinguish between civilians and militants in its count but says women and children make up around half of the dead.
Since the U.S.-brokered ceasefire took effect on October 10, 2025, the ministry says 1,145 Palestinians have been killed. Seven Israeli soldiers have been killed in the same period, according to the AP's reporting.
A ceasefire in name
The ceasefire's next steps remain largely stalled, the AP reports:
- Israeli forces now control over half of Gaza.
- Hamas has not disarmed.
- A new Palestinian government has not arrived.
- Reconstruction has not begun.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israeli forces will not withdraw until Hamas disarms.
September 27 strikes
On September 27, an Israeli strike on a car in Gaza City killed one person and wounded several, according to Shifa Hospital, and a separate strike in the Muwasi area of Khan Younis killed one person and wounded three, according to Nasser Hospital. Israel's military said it had targeted a military operative and a Hamas militant, respectively.
The Board of Peace impasse
US special envoy Jared Kushner blamed Israel's upcoming election for the impasse over the Board of Peace's plan to disarm Hamas, saying on September 6: "They just have a crazy election, and that makes them a little irrational in certain regards," according to the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.
Roughly 16,500 of 283,000 applicants for a planned Palestinian police force — intended to replace Hamas's security apparatus — passed Israeli security vetting, but Israel has not permitted them to leave Gaza for training in Egypt, FDD reported. The IDF reported 14 ceasefire violations in Gaza between September 4 and 15, including strikes that killed Khan Younis Brigade commander Muhammad Yazouri on September 11 and Jabalia Battalion commander Ahmed Betesh on September 15.
Diplomacy: the Netherlands, Yemen, Iran, Lebanon
In a separate development, Israel ordered Dutch diplomats in Ramallah to leave within one week, in response to a Dutch ban that took effect September 22 on the import, purchase, and sale of goods from Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank. Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said: "Any country that acts in a hostile and unilateral manner against Israel will lose influence and relevance in the region."
In Yemen, the World Health Organization says nearly 700 people have been killed since fighting escalated last month, with more than 130,000 displaced, the AP reported. Houthi rebels accused Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces of striking a market in Taiz's Taiziyah district, killing at least seven and wounding 40, according to Houthi health ministry spokesperson Anees al-Asbahi; the government's military rejected the claim.
Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said from New York that Tehran has not been formally notified of Trump's rejection of its proposed deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, adding: "At the same time, we stand ready for diplomacy. It is up to President Trump to choose."
And in Lebanon, thousands gathered in Beirut's southern suburbs to mark the two-year anniversary of former Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah's death in an Israeli airstrike. His successor Naim Kassem reiterated the group's refusal to disarm while Israeli forces occupy southern Lebanon. Lebanon's government signed a U.S.-brokered agreement in June under which Israeli forces would gradually withdraw in exchange for Hezbollah disarming — but Hezbollah was not a party to the negotiations, and implementation has stalled.
A note on sourcing
The Associated Press article carrying these figures was read via a mirror site carrying AP's byline and copyright notice; the original apnews.com page could not be opened directly. Figures from Gaza's Health Ministry are reported as the ministry's figures throughout — they are the most widely cited count available, not an independently verified total.
