CAIRO, October 14. /TASS/. The number of Palestinian fatalities as a result of attacks of Israeli forces against the enclave has risen to 2,228, the Gaza Health Ministry said.

"Victims over the week of tensions escalation in Gaza reached 2,228; 8,744 persons were wounded, the ministry informed. Women and children constitute the majority of victims, it added.

Tensions flared up in the Middle East on October 7 when militants from the radical Palestinian Hamas movement staged a surprise attack on Israeli territory from the Gaza Strip. Hamas described its attack as a response to the aggressive actions of Israeli authorities against the Al-Aqsa Mosque in the Old City of Jerusalem. Israel has announced a total blockade of the Gaza Strip as it has been delivering rocket attacks on Gaza as well as some districts in Lebanon and Syria. Clashes also occur on the West Bank of the Jordan River.