CAIRO, March 27. /TASS/. Nearly 32,500 Palestinians have been killed since the start of Israel’s military operation in the Gaza Strip, the enclave’s Health Ministry said in a statement.

"The number of victims has risen to 32,490 since Israel’s aggression against Gaza began last October. At least 74,889 people have suffered injuries," the statement read.

The Gaza Health Ministry added that 76 people had been killed in the enclave in the previous day, and another 102 had been injured.

Tensions in the Middle East flared up again on October 7 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 targets in the Strip, 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 the Gaza Strip.