Palestinian death toll in Gaza surpasses 18,400

Gaza, Dec 13 (IANS) The Ministry of Health in the Gaza Strip has announced that the Palestinian death toll in the Palestinian enclave has exceeded 18,400 since the eruption of the Hamas-Israel conflict on October 7.

The Ministry's Spokesman Ashraf al-Qedra said during a press conference that as of Tuesday, a total of 18,412 Palestinians have been killed and 50,100 others wounded in the Israeli military raids on Gaza, Xinhua news agency reported.

During the past hours, the bodies of 207 Palestinians were transferred to hospitals in the Gaza Strip, while 450 others were wounded in the Israeli raids, al-Qedra added.

Israel has been launching relentless strikes and a ground offensive in Gaza since October 7 in retaliation for Hamas' surprise attack on southern Israel, which killed about 1,200 people.

A 10-day ceasefire was implemented in late November to free 105 Israeli hostages by Hamas in exchange for the release of 240 Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails.