IT IS no surprise that Gaza’s death toll has continued to climb even with a ceasefire, Amnesty International’s secretary general Agnes Callamard said today. 

This comes as authorities confirmed today that the number of Palestinians killed by Israeli forces in Gaza has reached a staggering 61,709, and a day after plans by United States President Donald Trump to “clean out” Gaza prompted a swift rebuke from Iran. 

The latest figures from Gaza also show that more than 111,588 Palestinians have been injured with another 14,222 missing and presumed to be dead since October 2023. 

Ms Callamard told the Al Jazeera news network that the hike in the known number of deaths would not come as a surprise to anyone who has monitored and investigated Israel’s invasion over the last 15 months.

She said the lower figures alone were enough to trigger a case at the International Court of Justice and an investigation leading to arrest warrants for Israeli leaders by the International Criminal Court.

“But it should have triggered reactions from governments around the world much earlier,” Ms Callamard added. “So, I think the revised death toll will add to the urgency and severity of what has been done against Palestinians of Gaza.” 

“Genocide is not predicated on the number of victims, it is based on the act being committed — including creating conditions of life that are meant to decimate a population,” she said.  

On Sunday, the Iran’s Foreign Ministry warned President Trump that his plan to “clean out” Gaza would amount to ethnic cleansing and must not be implemented.

Mr Trump is likely to discuss the scheme with Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has arrived in Washington DC for talks with the US president.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei told reporters during a weekly news conference that the international community should help Palestinians secure their right to self-determination instead of its plan to force them to flee Gaza for Jordan and Egypt.

He said: “Despite the ceasefire in Gaza, crimes and massacres in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank are continuing. As the United Nations has warned as well, it appears the genocide is slated to continue in the West Bank and the crimes are set to be repeated.”

Mr Baghaei’s remarks come two days after a meeting of Arab foreign ministers also rejected displacement of Palestinians from Gaza “under any circumstances or justifications.”