Palestinian death toll from Israeli attacks on Gaza rises to 26,637

The Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza said on Monday that the Palestinian death toll from the Israeli offensive on the enclave has reached 26,637 since it began on Oct. 7, 2023, reported Xinhua.

In a press statement, the ministry said that Israeli forces killed 215 Palestinians and wounded 300 more in the past 24 hours, adding that the total number of wounded Palestinians since the start of the conflict was at least 65,387.

The ministry said that many victims were still trapped under the rubble, but ambulances and civil defense crews could not reach them.

Meanwhile, in the occupied West Bank, Israeli gunfire killed at least five Palestinians on Monday, according to the Health Ministry run by the Palestinian Authority.

It said that two young men were shot dead by Israeli soldiers in Dura village near Hebron city in the southern West Bank, where Israeli forces conducted a raid and clashed with Palestinians.

Another young man died of his wounds from Israeli gunfire during a similar raid in the town of Silwad near Ramallah in the central West Bank, the ministry said. It also reported the killing of two more Palestinians from Bethlehem and Jenin during confrontations with Israeli troops.

Israel launched a massive military campaign against Gaza on Oct. 7, 2023, after Hamas mounted a surprise attack on southern Israeli cities that killed around 1,200 people.