DUBAI, December 19. /TASS/. About 25 people were killed in Israeli strikes on the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, Al Jazeera reports.

According to Palestinian journalist Ismail Abu Omar, Israeli strikes on several residential buildings in Rafah killed at least 25.

Earlier, the Palestinian Health Ministry said that the number of people killed in Israel’s operation in Gaza and clashes in the West Bank had exceeded 19,000. According to the ministry, 70% of those killed are women and children.

Tensions in the Middle East flared up again on October 7 after militants from the radical Palestinian group Hamas launched a surprise incursion into Israeli territory from the Gaza Strip, killing residents of border communities and taking over 200 people hostage. Hamas described its attack as a response to the aggressive actions of Israeli authorities against the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. Israel announced a total blockade of Gaza and started carrying out retaliatory strikes on Gaza, as well as on certain areas in Lebanon and Syria.