The total number of people killed in military operations in the Gaza Strip since October 2023 has risen to 48,181, with 111,638 injured. The enclave's Ministry of Health published these figures on its Telegram channel.
According to its information, "572 cases have been added to the total statistics of the number of casualties in the Gaza Strip." These findings were confirmed by a judicial committee investigating reports of missing persons.
In the past 2 days, rescuers in the Gaza Strip have pulled out over 20 bodies from the rubble and delivered them to medical facilities. According to the agency, "over the past 48 hours, a total of 26 bodies of the dead (22 of which were pulled from the rubble) and 5 wounded have been admitted to the enclave's hospitals".
The situation in the Middle East deteriorated sharply after the penetration of armed supporters of the radical Palestinian movement "Hamas" from the Gaza Strip into Israeli territory on October 7, 2023, accompanied by the killing of residents of border villages and the taking of hostages. The radicals called the attack a response to the actions of the Israeli authorities against the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. Israel declared a complete blockade of Gaza and launched retaliatory strikes against it and certain areas of Lebanon and Syria, after which it launched a ground operation in the Palestinian enclave.
On January 15, the head of government and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Qatar, Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, announced that Israel and Hamas, as a result of the mediation efforts of Doha, Cairo and Washington, had reached an agreement on the release of hostages held in the Gaza Strip and the introduction of a ceasefire in the enclave. The agreement, which includes three stages, entered into force on January 19.