CAIRO, September 23. /TASS/. More than 1,700 medical workers have been killed as a result of Israeli bombing and shelling of the Gaza Strip since the start of military operations there, the enclave’s Health Ministry said.

"To date, the number of medical workers killed in Gaza as a result of Israeli military actions has reached 1,723," a ministry spokesman said, as quoted by Al Jazeera. He added that 38 hospitals had come under artillery fire or air strikes during the operation.

The spokesman also warned that the ongoing Israeli ban on fuel supplies to Gaza "threatens to turn into a terrible disaster both for the healthcare system and for the entire enclave."

On August 18, Al Jazeera reported that most hospitals in the Strip had been damaged and forced to suspend operations due to the fighting, with only 15 of about 40 hospitals still functioning, many only partially.

Tensions in the Middle East sharply escalated after October 7, 2023, when armed Hamas supporters crossed from Gaza into Israeli territory, killing residents of border towns and taking hostages. In response, Israel launched a military operation in the enclave targeting Hamas’ military and political structures and aiming to free all abducted individuals. According to the latest figures released by the Health Ministry, the total number of victims in Gaza has reached 65,174 with over 166,000 injured. Another 440 residents of the embattled enclave, including 147 children, have died from starvation.