CAIRO, July 13. /TASS/. More than 38,400 people have been killed in the Gaza Strip as a result of Israel’s military operation since early October 2023, the enclave’s health ministry said.

According to its statistics, "to date, the death toll from Israel’s aggression in Gaza has amounted to 38,443." The ministry added that a total of 88,481 people have been injured in the enclave.

Over the past 24 hours, 61 Palestinians were killed and another 129 were wounded as a result of Israeli forces’ shelling and air attacks, the health ministry said.

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 border were killed or taken hostage. Hamas described the attack as a response to Israeli authorities’ steps against the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. Israel declared a total blockade of the Gaza Strip and launched bombardments of the enclave and some areas in Lebanon and Syria. Clashes are also reported in the West Bank.