CAIRO, January 4. /TASS/. The number of Palestinians killed by the Israeli army in the Gaza Strip since the start of hostilities there in October 2023 has exceeded 45,700, the enclave's Health Ministry reported.
"The number of victims of the Israeli aggression in the Gaza Strip since October 2023 has risen to 45,717, the number of injured to 108,856," the Health Ministry said in a statement posted on its Telegram channel. The ministry pointed out that 59 Palestinians were killed and 273 others were injured in the enclave in the past 24 hours as a result of Israeli shelling.
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, home to 2.3 million Palestinians before the crisis, launching air strikes on Gaza as well as some parts of Lebanon and Syria before starting a ground operation in the Palestinian enclave.