
More than 67,000 Palestinians have been killed since the beginning of the war, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, including more than 17,000 children.
In the attack that ignited the conflict on October 7, 2023, Hamas and other militant groups killed approximately 1,200 people in Israel and kidnapped more than 250 others.
Since then, there have been only two ceasefires.
The first truce came into effect in November 2023, but lasted only a week. In that time, 105 hostages were released from Gaza in exchange for scores of Palestinian prisoners.
A second ceasefire was not struck until January 2025, shortly before Trump’s return to the White House. In just over eight weeks — the first “phase” of the ceasefire — Hamas freed 33 hostages, with Israel releasing around 50 Palestinian prisoners for every Israeli freed.
Under the planned second stage, Israel was supposed to agree to a permanent ceasefire. But Israel resumed its offensive on March 18, shattering the ceasefire and derailing the talks, saying it did so to pressure Hamas to release the remaining hostages.