CAIRO, February 23. /TASS/. More than 29,500 people have been killed since the start of the Israeli military operation in the Gaza Strip, according to the data presented by the Ministry of Health of the Palestinian enclave.
"Currently, the number of victims of Israeli aggression in Gaza has reached 29,514," the Ministry of Health said in a statement, which was quoted by Al Jazeera TV channel. During the same period, 69,616 Palestinians were injured in the enclave.
Over the past 24 hours alone, according to the department, 104 people were killed and 160 were injured as a result of the actions of the Israeli army in the enclave. According to Al Mayadeen TV channel broadcasting from Beirut, many bodies remain under the rubble and on the roads and the Israeli army does not allow ambulances to arrive at the scene.
The situation in the Middle East escalated sharply after the surprise incursion by Gaza Strip-based militants of radical Palestinian movement Hamas into Israeli territory on October 7, 2023, accompanied by the killing of residents of border settlements and hostage-taking. In response, Israel declared a complete blockade of Gaza and began strikes against the Strip and parts of Lebanon and Syria before launching a ground operation in the enclave. Clashes are also taking place in the West Bank.