CAIRO, October 16. /TASS/. The number of Palestinian fatalities since the beginning of the latest escalation in in the Middle East on October 7 has risen to 2,808, the Palestinian Health Ministry said on its Telegram channel.

According to the ministry, 2,750 people died in the Gaza Strip, and another 58 in the West Bank.

The total number of wounded has increased to 10,950 people, with at least 9,700 injured in Gaza and at least 1,250 in the West Bank, the ministry said.

Tensions flared up again 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. According to the latest official data, up to 1,500 Israelis have lost their lives and almost 4,000 have been wounded in clashes, including on the West Bank of the Jordan River.