CAIRO, March 12. /TASS/. The number of people killed in the Gaza Strip since the start of Israel’s combat operations is approaching 31,200, the Palestinian enclave’s Health Ministry said in a statement.

"The number of people killed in Israel’s aggression has reached 31,184 since last October," the statement reads.

According to the ministry, at least 72,889 people have suffered wounds.

Tensions in the Middle East flared up again on October 7, 2023, after militants from the radical Palestinian group Hamas launched a surprise incursion into Israeli territory from the Gaza Strip, killing residents of border communities and taking people hostage. Israel started carrying out retaliatory strikes on the Palestinian enclave, as well as on certain areas in Lebanon and Syria. On December 1, the Israeli army accused Hamas of violating a ceasefire that had taken effect on November 24 and resumed combat operations in Gaza.