GAZA, Jan. 29 (Xinhua) — The Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza said today that the number of Palestinians killed by Israel's offensive against the enclave since the conflict began on Oct. 7, 2023 has now reached 26,637 .
In a press release, the ministry said Israeli forces killed 215 Palestinians and injured more than 300 in the past 24 hours. The total number of wounded since the start of the conflict is at least 65,387.
The ministry added that many victims were still lying under the rubble and that ambulances and civil defense teams were unable to reach them.
On the other hand, Israeli soldiers shot dead at least five Palestinians in the occupied West Bank today, the Palestinian Authority-administered Health Ministry reported.
The authority said two young men were killed by Israeli soldiers in the town of Dura, near the southern West Bank city of Hebron, where Israeli forces were carrying out raids and clashing with Palestinians.
Another young man died of wounds caused by Israeli gunfire in a similar attack in the town of Silwad, near Ramallah in the central West Bank, the ministry said, which also reported the deaths of two other Palestinians in Bethlehem and Jenin Soldiers reported clashes with Israelis.
Israel launched a massive military campaign against Gaza on October 7, 2023, after Hamas launched a surprise attack on cities in southern Israel, killing nearly 1,200 people. End