CAIRO, December 12. /TASS/. At least 30 Palestinians were killed in Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip in the past day, the enclave’s Health Ministry said in a statement.

"Thirty people were killed and another 99 suffered injuries in the Israeli aggression in the past 24 hours," the statement reads.

The agency reported that several people remain missing, with some victims still trapped under the rubble of buildings destroyed in the bombardment. Civil defense teams and ambulance crews are facing difficulties reaching the sites of the shelling due to obstructed roads and a shortage of vehicles.

According to the ministry, "the death toll has reached 44,835 since the start of Israel’s military operation, while 106,356 were injured."

Tensions flared up again in the Middle East on October 7, 2023, when Hamas militants staged a surprise attack on Israeli territory from Gaza, killing residents of Israeli border settlements and taking over 250 hostages, including women, children and the elderly. Hamas described its attack as retaliation for the aggressive actions taken by Israeli authorities against the Al-Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem’s Old City. In response, Israel declared a total blockade of the Gaza Strip, launching airstrikes on Gaza as well as some parts of Lebanon and Syria before starting a ground operation in the Palestinian enclave. Hostilities in Gaza continue to this day.