Egypt’s Dar Al-Ifta issued a new fatwa regarding the payment of zakat to the families of martyrs from the Gaza Strip, whose numbers have exceeded 67,000 during the two-year genocide war committed by the Israeli occupation army.

Dar Al-Ifta posted on its official Facebook page an answer to the question: “What is the ruling on giving zakat to the families of Gaza martyrs?” It stated: “Zakat was originally legislated to build the human being, meet his needs, and suffice his livelihood requirements. If it concerns preserving lives, rescuing souls, and confronting hunger, thirst, and disease—as is the case for the people of Gaza—then directing zakat to them and transferring it to them is legally permissible and there is no harm in that.”

It added: “Provided that this is done through official, legal, and accredited channels to ensure the money reaches its rightful recipients.”

In the latest official statistics, the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza announced on Monday that the death toll from the Israeli aggression since October 7, 2023, has risen to 67,869 martyrs and 170,105 injured.

The ministry noted that “63 martyrs, including 60 recovered bodies, and 39 injuries arrived at Gaza hospitals in the past 24 hours,” confirming that there are victims under the rubble and on the streets whom ambulance and civil defense teams have not yet been able to reach.

On Thursday, former US President Donald Trump announced that the Israeli occupation and Hamas reached an agreement on the first phase of his ceasefire and prisoner exchange plan, following indirect negotiations between the two parties in Sharm El-Sheikh, with the participation of Turkey, Egypt, and Qatar, under US supervision.

Since October 8, 2023, the Israeli occupation army, supported by the United States, has committed a two-year genocide in Gaza involving killing, starving, destroying, and forcibly displacing people, ignoring all international calls and orders from the International Court of Justice to stop.

In addition to the martyrs and wounded, most of whom are children and women, the genocide has left more than 9,500 missing, hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians, and a famine that claimed the lives of 463 Palestinians, including 157 children.