DUBAI, May 19. /TASS/. At least 28 Palestinians were killed and dozens wounded in Israeli airstrikes in the northern Gaza Strip, the Qatari TV channel Al Jazeera reported.

"At least 28 people have been killed and dozens wounded - many of them women and children - after Israel launched air attacks on the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza. Dozens more are buried under the debris, the TV channel reports.

Al Jazeera also reports that the ongoing Israeli aggression in Gaza since October 2023 has resulted in the deaths of 35,386 Palestinians and injured 79,366 others.

The situation in the Middle East escalated sharply on October 7, 2023, when militants from the Gaza-based Hamas radical Palestinian movement staged a surprise attack on Israeli territory, killing residents of Israeli border settlements and taking over 240 hostages, including women, children and seniors. Hamas described its attack as a response to 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 total blockade of the Gaza Strip, home to 2.3 million Palestinians before the crisis, and has been delivering air strikes on Gaza as well as some parts of Lebanon and Syria. Clashes have also been reported on the West Bank.