Palestinian death toll rises to 22,438 in Gaza: ministry

People walk past buildings destroyed in Israeli strikes in the southern Gaza Strip city of Khan Younis, on Jan. 4, 2024. Palestinian death toll from Israeli strikes on the Gaza Strip rose to 22,438 since the Israel-Hamas conflict broke out on Oct. 7, 2023, said the Gaza-based Health Ministry on Thursday. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua)

GAZA, Jan. 4 (Xinhua) -- Palestinian death toll from Israeli strikes on the Gaza Strip rose to 22,438 since the Israel-Hamas conflict broke out on Oct. 7, 2023, said the Gaza-based Health Ministry on Thursday.

The Ministry Spokesperson Ashraf al-Qedra said in a statement that the Israeli army killed 125 Palestinians and wounded 318 others in the Gaza Strip during the past 24 hours.

It brings the total deaths to 22,438 and injuries to 57,614, he said, noting that 70 percent of the victims are children and women.

He added that 99 health workers, including the directors of three major hospitals in Gaza City and north, have been held by Israeli forces.

Al-Qedra warned that in the southern Gazan city of Khan Younis, the Nasser Medical Complex and the Al-Amal Hospital affiliated with the Red Crescent Society, have come under a series of Israeli strikes, calling on international institutions to take urgent action to protect hospitals and ensure access for the wounded and sick to medical facilities.

Meanwhile, a major Israeli military operation in the city of Tulkarm in the northern West Bank has continued for two days, primarily focusing on the Nour Shams refugee camp, according to local Palestinian sources.

The sources told Xinhua that the Israeli forces left major destruction to the roads and infrastructure in the area.

At least 325 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli gunfire in the West Bank since a new round of Israeli-Palestinian conflict broke out on Oct. 7, 2023, according to the official Palestinian news agency WAFA.

A man stands among the rubble of buildings destroyed in Israeli strikes in the southern Gaza Strip city of Khan Younis, on Jan. 4, 2024. Palestinian death toll from Israeli strikes on the Gaza Strip rose to 22,438 since the Israel-Hamas conflict broke out on Oct. 7, 2023, said the Gaza-based Health Ministry on Thursday. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua)

People are seen in front of buildings destroyed in Israeli strikes in the southern Gaza Strip city of Khan Younis, on Jan. 4, 2024. Palestinian death toll from Israeli strikes on the Gaza Strip rose to 22,438 since the Israel-Hamas conflict broke out on Oct. 7, 2023, said the Gaza-based Health Ministry on Thursday. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua)

A man walks among the rubble of buildings destroyed in Israeli strikes in the southern Gaza Strip city of Khan Younis, on Jan. 4, 2024. Palestinian death toll from Israeli strikes on the Gaza Strip rose to 22,438 since the Israel-Hamas conflict broke out on Oct. 7, 2023, said the Gaza-based Health Ministry on Thursday. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua)

A man walks among the rubble of buildings destroyed in Israeli strikes in the southern Gaza Strip city of Khan Younis, on Jan. 4, 2024. Palestinian death toll from Israeli strikes on the Gaza Strip rose to 22,438 since the Israel-Hamas conflict broke out on Oct. 7, 2023, said the Gaza-based Health Ministry on Thursday. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua)

A man stands among the rubble of buildings destroyed in Israeli strikes in the southern Gaza Strip city of Khan Younis, on Jan. 4, 2024. Palestinian death toll from Israeli strikes on the Gaza Strip rose to 22,438 since the Israel-Hamas conflict broke out on Oct. 7, 2023, said the Gaza-based Health Ministry on Thursday. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua)

People walk among the rubble of buildings destroyed in Israeli strikes in the southern Gaza Strip city of Khan Younis, on Jan. 4, 2024. Palestinian death toll from Israeli strikes on the Gaza Strip rose to 22,438 since the Israel-Hamas conflict broke out on Oct. 7, 2023, said the Gaza-based Health Ministry on Thursday. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua)

A man walks among the rubble of buildings destroyed in Israeli strikes in the southern Gaza Strip city of Khan Younis, on Jan. 4, 2024. Palestinian death toll from Israeli strikes on the Gaza Strip rose to 22,438 since the Israel-Hamas conflict broke out on Oct. 7, 2023, said the Gaza-based Health Ministry on Thursday. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua)

A man walks among the rubble of buildings destroyed in Israeli strikes in the southern Gaza Strip city of Khan Younis, on Jan. 4, 2024. Palestinian death toll from Israeli strikes on the Gaza Strip rose to 22,438 since the Israel-Hamas conflict broke out on Oct. 7, 2023, said the Gaza-based Health Ministry on Thursday. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua)