MOSCOW, February 13. /TASS/. The number of Palestinians killed in the latest escalation between Palestine and Israel in the Gaza Strip has reached almost 30,000, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said.

Addressing the 13th Middle East Conference hosted by the Valdai Discussion Club, Russia’s top diplomat said: "According to the latest updates, though no exact figures are available, almost 30,000 Palestinians, half of them being women and children, have been killed. The number of those injured is two to three times higher."

And the death toll is rising, Lavrov said, as he referred to a recent bombing of the city of Rafah that left 100 civilians killed and over 200 others wounded.

On February 7, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the military of the Jewish state had been ordered to prepare to storm Rafah on the border with Egypt. Two days later, he instructed the army to detail an evacuation plan for the civilian population and destroy the four remaining Hamas battalions in the city.

Early on February 11, the Arab media reported massive Israeli airstrikes on Rafah. According to the Lebanese TV channel Al Mayadeen, 100 people were killed in the attack, with more than 230 others being injured.