The Palestinian death toll from the nearly three-year Israel-Hamas war has surpassed 74,000, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. Meanwhile, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says Tehran has not been formally notified of U.S. President Donald Trump’s rejection of its proposed deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. And the World Health Organization says nearly 700 people have been killed in Yemen since fighting escalated last month. Here is a look at the latest news from the Middle East on Sunday. Iran’s top diplomat says they await word from mediators Araghchi said Tehran awaits a U.S. response through mediators after Trump rejected Iran’s proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and resume negotiations. Speaking from New York, Araghchi told NBC that Iran is “fully prepared for the war to be resumed.” He added, however: “At the same time, we stand ready for diplomacy. It is up to President Trump to choose.” Trump told Axios he expects U.S. negotiators to engage in more talks this week. Araghchi, who had described the proposal on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, earlier told Iranian state media that Tehran’s conditions for reopening the strait remained unchanged and there would be “no backing down from them.” Israel to expel Dutch diplomats over settlements-related ban Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said the government had notified the Dutch embassy in Israel that its diplomats in Ramallah had to leave within one week. Saar said the decision was in response to a Dutch ban that went into effect on Sept. 22 on the “import, purchase and sale of goods” originating from Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, which the Netherlands, like most of the international community, considers illegal. Israeli news outlets reported Sunday that Dutch authorities searched the luggage of passengers on a flight from Tel Aviv to Amsterdam to ensure compliance. “Any country that acts in a hostile and unilateral manner against Israel will lose influence and relevance in the region,” Saar said in a statement. There was no immediate comment from the Dutch foreign ministry. Israel also ousted the Dutch delegation from the International Gaza Support Center last month. In Gaza, over 1,100 have been killed since ceasefire Gaza’s Health Ministry on Saturday said the Palestinian death toll has risen to 74,016, with 175,068 wounded. The war began on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas-led militants invaded Israel, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking 251 others hostage. While a ceasefire that took effect last Oct. 10 has halted the heaviest fighting, Israeli strikes have continued in what the military has said are responses to threats or attacks. Since the ceasefire, 1,145 Palestinians have been killed, said the ministry, which is part of the Hamas-led government. It maintains detailed records viewed as generally reliable by U.N. agencies and international organizations. It does not distinguish between civilians and militants. Meanwhile, seven Israeli soldiers have been killed since the ceasefire. Next steps in the U.S.-brokered ceasefire remain largely stalled. Israeli forces now control over half of the territory, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says they will not withdraw until Hamas disarms. Israeli strikes in Gaza kill at least 2 Israeli strikes in central and southern Gaza killed two Palestinians and wounded several others, according to hospital officials. In Gaza City, a strike hit a car, killing one person and wounding several others, according to Shifa Hospital. Video showed a chaotic scene around the charred vehicle. Israel’s military said it targeted a military operative. A separate Israeli strike in the Muwasi area of Khan Younis killed one person and wounded three others, according to Nasser Hospital. Israeli’s military said it targeted a Hamas militant. Houthi rebels accuse Yemeni forces of a deadly strike Iranian-backed Houthi rebels accused Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces of striking a market in Yemen’s Taiz province, killing at least seven people. Anees al-Asbahi, a spokesperson for the Houthi-run health ministry, said the strike hit shops in a market in the district of Taiziyah. He said at least other 40 people, including five children, were wounded. The military of Yemen’s internationally recognized government rejected the Houthi claims, saying it attacked Houthi “warehouses and positions” in northern, southern and western Taiz and left “dozens of dead and wounded” among the rebels. There has been fierce fighting on Yemen’s Red Sea coast as government forces attempt to reverse recent Houthi advances. The WHO says almost 700 people have been killed since the escalation last month. Hezbollah supporters mark Nasrallah’s death Thousands of people gathered in Beirut’s southern suburbs to mark the two-year anniversary of former Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah’s death in an Israeli airstrike. In a video address, his successor, Naim Kassem, reiterated the militant group’s refusal to disarm while Israeli forces occupy southern Lebanon. “With regard to disarmament, we have told (the government) that we are ready for dialogue, but first the south must be liberated and its people return,” he said. The latest Israel-Hezbollah war began when the Iran-backed group fired missiles across the border, two days after the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran. Israel responded with bombardment and a ground invasion and now occupies a large swath of the south. Lebanon’s government signed a U.S.-brokered agreement in June under which Israeli forces would gradually withdraw in exchange for Hezbollah disarming. Hezbollah was not a party to the negotiations, and implementation of the agreement has stalled. This report will be updated throughout the day as new developments emerge. The Associated Press
