CAIRO, December 18. /TASS/. At least 110 civilians have become victims of Israeli shelling in the northern Gaza Strip, the enclave’s Health Ministry reported.

According to its information, cited by the Al Hadath TV channel, "at least 110 people were killed as a result of the Israeli air force's raids on the northern part of the enclave in the past few hours alone."

The Israeli army specifically targeted an area near the Al-Shifa Hospital, the ministry said. According to its information, five people were killed in the shelling.

Tensions flared up again in the Middle East on October 7 when militants from the Gaza Strip-based radical Palestinian movement Hamas staged a surprise attack on Israeli territory from Gaza, killing residents of Israeli border settlements and taking over 200 hostages, including women, children and the elderly. Hamas described its attack as a response to the aggressive actions of Israeli authorities against the Al-Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem’s Old City. In response, Israel declared a total blockade of the Gaza Strip, home to 2.3 million Palestinians, and has been delivering air strikes on Gaza as well as some parts of Lebanon and Syria. Clashes are also underway in the West Bank.