CAIRO, May 29. /TASS/. Over 54,200 people have been killed in the Gaza Strip since hostilities resumed in the enclave on October 7, 2023, Gaza’s Health Ministry reported on Thursday.

"The death toll in the Gaza Strip since the beginning of the escalation of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict in early October 2023 has approached 54,249, with 123,492 people injured," the ministry wrote on its Telegram channel. Over the past 24 hours, 67 bodies and 184 injured people were taken to hospitals, the ministry said, adding that the information about another 98 dead people was included in the overall statistics of casualties after the data was verified on site.

On March 18, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) reported widespread strikes on Hamas strongholds in the Gaza Strip, thus ending the ceasefire established in January this year. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said that Israel had renewed military operations in Gaza after Hamas rejected the US proposals put forward by mediators and US Special Presidential Envoy Steve Witkoff.

The office stated that the Israeli military had resumed strikes on Hamas targets in Gaza to secure the release of hostages and that the army would escalate its campaign in the enclave. The radicals have blamed the United States for the resumption of Israeli aggression.

On May 18, Israeli officials said the IDF had entered the decisive phase of the Gideon’s Chariots military operation aimed at defeating Hamas in Gaza. According to the Israeli prime minister’s office, "ground forces are advancing deep into the Gaza Strip," carrying out "targeted strikes against Hamas structures and occupying key positions."