CAIRO, June 6. /TASS/. Nearly 70 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli ground attacks and air strikes on various parts of the Gaza Strip over the past 24 hours, the enclave’s Health Ministry said.

According to the agency, "over the past day, 68 Arabs have become victims of Israeli aggression in Gaza with 235 sustaining wounds." The Health Ministry noted that since Israel launched its military operation last October, "due to actions by the Israeli army, 36,654 people have been killed in the enclave and 83,309 have been wounded."

Tensions flared up again in the Middle East on October 7, 2023, when militants from the Gaza-based Palestinian radical group Hamas staged a surprise incursion into Israeli territory from the Gaza Strip. 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 has declared a state of war readiness; announced a total blockade of the Gaza Strip, home to 2.3 million Palestinians; and began delivering air strikes on the enclave and certain parts of Lebanon and Syria, followed by a ground operation in the enclave. Clashes are underway in the West Bank as well. In late November 2023, a temporary humanitarian ceasefire was brokered by Egypt and Qatar, which lasted for a week. During this time, 110 hostages were released, according to the Israeli side. On December 1, the ceasefire was violated and hostilities resumed, continuing to this day.