BEIRUT, September 9. /TASS/. At least 16 Palestinians died and 64 others were wounded as a result of continuing hostilities in the Gaza Strip during the past day, the enclave’s health ministry said.

According to the ministry, the overall death toll since the outbreak of the current round of escalation in early October 2023 has reached 40,988. As many as 94,825 people were hurt and sought medical assistance.

Tensions flared up again in the Middle East on October 7 after militants from the Gaza Strip-based radical Palestinian group Hamas launched a surprise incursion on Israeli territory, killing many Israeli kibbutz residents living near the Gaza border and abducting more than 240 Israelis, including women, children and the elderly. Israel declared a total blockade of the Gaza Strip and launched bombardments of the enclave and some areas in Lebanon and Syria, as well as a ground operation against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Clashes are also reported in the West Bank.