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Middle East conflict

At least 50 civilians killed, dozens injured in shelling of Gaza residential areas

According to the latest data from the Health Ministry, the number of people killed in the Gaza Strip as a result of Israeli strikes since tensions escalated on October 7 has exceeded 21,000

CAIRO, December 28. /TASS/. At least 50 people have been killed and dozens wounded as a result of Israeli strikes on residential areas in the Gaza Strip, Ashraf Al-Qudra, spokesman for the Gaza Health Ministry, reported.

"Fifty people died and dozens were injured as a result of the shelling by the Israeli occupation forces of civilian homes in [the towns of] Beit Lahiya (in the north of the Gaza Strip - TASS), Khan Younis (in the south of the Strip) and Maghazi (in the central part of the enclave) this morning," the spokesman said in a statement posted on the ministry's Telegram channel. He said the death toll could rise.

According to the latest data from the Health Ministry, the number of people killed in the Gaza Strip as a result of Israeli strikes since tensions escalated on October 7 has exceeded 21,000, with more than 55,000 injured.

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 borderline kibbutz 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. On December 1, the Israeli army accused Hamas of violating a ceasefire that had been in effect since November 24 and announced that it would resume fighting in Gaza. Palestinian officials blamed the US for the renewed Israeli aggression.

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