CAIRO, June 18. /TASS/. The number of Palestinians killed in the Gaza Strip as a result of Israeli military actions has reached 1,007, despite the ceasefire in effect in the enclave, the Health Ministry reported.

According to a statement posted on the ministry’s Telegram channel, 3,165 Gaza Strip residents have been injured by Israeli shelling since the ceasefire began. Over the past three days, nine people have been killed in the enclave and more than 20 have been injured.

The ministry also noted that the total number of casualties from the escalation of the conflict in Gaza since October 2023 has risen to 73,018, with over 173,000 Palestinians injured.

Tensions flared up again in the Middle East on October 7, 2023, when Hamas militants staged a surprise attack on Israeli territory from Gaza, killing residents of Israeli border settlements and taking over 250 hostages, including women, children and the elderly. Hamas described its attack as retaliation for the aggressive actions taken by Israeli authorities against the Al-Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem’s Old City. In response, Israel declared a total blockade of the Gaza Strip, home to 2.3 million Palestinians before the crisis, launching air strikes on Gaza as well as some parts of Lebanon and Syria before starting a ground operation in the Palestinian enclave.