DUBAI, January 6. /TASS/. The death toll from a strike by the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) on a house in the town of Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip has risen to 18, the Lebanese TV channel Al Mayadeen reported.

The wounded were taken to the Gaza hospital, which is located in Khan Yunis.

The Ministry of Health of the Palestinian enclave reported that the death toll as a result of Israel's military operation in Gaza reached 22,600, and almost 58,000 people were injured.

The situation in the Middle East sharply escalated following an incursion of Hamas militants from the Gaza Strip into Israel on October 7. Hamas cast the attack as a response to Israeli actions against the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. Israel has declared a complete siege of the Gaza Strip and started a military operation there. Israel also strikes parts of Lebanon and Syria in retaliation for bombardments originating from these countries. Clashes are also taking place in the West Bank.