CAIRO, March 8. /TASS/. About 80 people have been killed over the past 24 hours as a result of Israel’s operation in the Gaza Strip, the enclave’s Health Ministry said.

"Over the past 24 hours, 78 people were killed and 104 more wounded by Israeli forces in Gaza," the ministry said, as quoted by the Al Jazeera television channel.

According to the health ministry, the death toll from the Israeli military operation in the enclave climbed to 30,878, while 72,402 Palestinians were wounded.

Tensions flared up in the Middle East after Hamas militants from the Gaza Strip attacked Israeli territory on October 7, when many Israelis living in the settlements near the Gaza border were killed or taken hostage. In response, Israel declared a total blockade of Gaza, launched bombardments of the enclave and some areas in Lebanon and Syria, and then went on to conduct a ground offensive in the enclave. The clashes are also reported in the West Bank. On December 1, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) blamed Hamas for violating the ceasefire, which had been in effect since November 24, and resumed its military operation in the Gaza Strip. The Palestinian authorities pinned the blame for the resumption of Israel’s aggression on the United States.