CAIRO, February 28. /TASS/. Nearly 30,000 people have been killed since the start of the Israeli military operation in the Gaza Strip, according to data made available by the Health Ministry of the embattled Palestinian enclave.

"Currently, the number of victims of Israeli aggression in Gaza has reached 29,954, [and] 70,325 more people were injured," the Gaza Health Ministry said on its Telegram channel. Over the past 24 hours alone, according to the public health agency, 76 people were killed and 110 were injured as a result of the actions of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in the enclave.

Tensions 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. The Hamas militants killed residents of Israeli border settlements and took hundreds of hostages, claiming their attack was in retribution for 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 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 have also been reported in the West Bank.