CAIRO, July 18. /TASS/. At least 54 people were killed and 95 injured over the past 24 hours as a result of the actions of the Israeli military in the Gaza Strip, the enclave's Health Ministry said on its Telegram channel.

Thus, "since October 7 last year, the number of victims of Israeli aggression has increased to 38,848, 89,459 people have been wounded," the ministry noted. According to it, some of the injured are still under the rubble. Ambulance and civil defense teams are unable to reach them.

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. In response, Israel announced a total blockade of Gaza and started carrying out strikes on targets in the Strip, as well as on certain areas in Lebanon and Syria; a ground operation was launched later. Clashes are also taking place in the West Bank.