CAIRO, November 28. /TASS/. Over 44,300 Palestinians have been killed in the Gaza Strip as a result of the actions of the Israeli military since the beginning of the escalation in the enclave in October 2023, the Palestinian Health Ministry reported.

"The number of victims of the Israeli army in Gaza since October 2023 has increased to 44,330; 104,933 people has been injured," the health ministry said, adding that 48 Palestinians were killed and 53 were injured by Israeli bombings in the past 24 hours alone.

The situation in the Middle East escalated dramatically when on October 7, 2023 armed Hamas supporters from the Gaza Strip penetrated Israeli territory, killing residents of border settlements and seizing more than 250 hostages. In retaliation, Israel launched a military operation in the enclave in order to destroy the military and political structures of Hamas and liberate all those hostages. The hostilities in the Gaza Strip continue to this day.