CAIRO, March 4. /TASS/. Over 30,500 people have been killed and almost 72,000 injured 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 30,534, [and] 71,920 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, 124 people were killed and 210 were injured as a result of the actions of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in the enclave.

Tensions flared up in the Middle East on October 7, 2023, after militants from radical Palestinian movement Hamas staged a surprise infiltration from the Gaza Strip into Israeli territory, killing residents of border settlements and taking numerous hostages. In response, Israel began conducting strikes against the Palestinian enclave as well as certain areas of Lebanon and Syria. On December 1, the Israeli army accused Hamas of violating the truce in force since November 24 and announced that it was resuming hostilities in the Gaza Strip. The Palestinian authorities have blamed the United States for the resumption of Israeli aggression.