Palestinian death toll in Gaza rises to 29,692: ministry
GAZA -- The Israeli army killed 86 Palestinians and wounded 131 others in the Gaza Strip during the past 24 hours, raising the total death toll in the enclave to 29,692 and injuries to 69,879 since the Israel-Hamas conflict broke out on Oct 7, 2023, the Hamas-run Health Ministry said in a press statement Sunday.
It noted that many victims remain under the rubble due to heavy bombardment and a lack of civil defense and ambulance crews.
A Palestinian was killed and four others were injured in an Israeli raid on a house in the Al-Shaaf area, east of Gaza City, Palestinian medical sources told Xinhua.
The sources added that artillery shelling on the western parts of Khan Younis city and the Al-Sabra neighborhood of Gaza City killed a number of Palestinians and injured dozens of others.
In the northern town of Beit Lahia, three Palestinians were killed and 10 others injured after the Israeli army attacked a residential house, with some people remaining under the rubble, according to Palestinian security sources.
The security sources said violent clashes between armed Palestinian factions and Israeli forces broke out in the Al-Zaytoun neighborhood in the south of Gaza City, and explosions were heard in the area.
The Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), and the Al-Quds Brigades, the military wing of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement, announced in separate statements that their members "engaged in armed clashes with the Israeli forces east of the neighborhood and targeted their vehicles with shells and caused deaths and injuries among their ranks."
For its part, the Israeli army announced on Sunday two soldiers were killed in a battle in the southern Gaza Strip.
The army added that an officer and two other soldiers were seriously injured during a battle in the southern Gaza Strip, and they were taken to hospitals for treatment.
Israel has been launching a large-scale offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip to retaliate against a Hamas rampage through the southern Israeli border on Oct 7, 2023, during which about 1,200 people were killed and more than 240 were taken hostage.
