The death toll from Israeli shelling in the Gaza Strip has reached 413, DPA and Agence France-Presse reported, citing health authorities in the Hamas-ruled Palestinian enclave.
At least 660 people were injured in the strikes.
Israel launched a new offensive in Gaza today, ending a truce with the Islamist group. There are fears of a full-scale renewal of the war, DPA noted.
"Many health facilities are literally overwhelmed" after the new shelling, the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies reported today.
The World Health Organization, for its part, highlighted the lack of medicines in the Palestinian territory. "Due to the lack of medicines, there is a risk that health workers will not be able to provide treatment for a variety of medical conditions, not just traumatic wounds", the WHO warns.
The leader of the Hamas government in Gaza, Essam al-Dalis, was killed in the strikes tonight, the Islamist movement said. He was included in a statement of condolence that named four "government leaders" in the Palestinian enclave. They include Interior Ministry chief General Mahmoud Abu Watfa and Internal Security Services chief General Bahjat Abu Sultan.
Al-Dalis had been a member of Hamas"s political leadership since 2021. In November 2023, Israel said it had struck a Hamas building where he and other leaders of the Islamist organization were staying. The rest were killed in the attack, AFP recalls.