Palestinian death toll in Gaza from Israeli attacks rises to 30,960: ministry

People inspect destroyed buildings after intense airstrikes in the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah, on March 9, 2024. The Palestinian death toll from ongoing Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip has risen to 30,960 with 72,524 others wounded, the Hamas-run Health Ministry said in a press statement on Saturday. (Photo by Yasser Qudih/Xinhua)

GAZA, March 9 (Xinhua) -- The Palestinian death toll from ongoing Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip has risen to 30,960 with 72,524 others wounded, the Hamas-run Health Ministry said in a press statement on Saturday.

During the last 24 hours, the Israeli army killed 82 Palestinians and wounded 122 others, it added.

The statement noted that some victims remained under the rubble amid heavy bombardment and a lack of civil defense and ambulance crews.

Dozens of Palestinians, the majority of whom are children and women, were killed and others injured in a series of Israeli airstrikes that targeted multiple areas across the Gaza Strip since Friday night, Palestine's official news agency WAFA reported.

The report said at least 23 people were killed in intense airstrikes that targeted a number of houses in the southern Gaza Strip cities of Khan Younis and Rafah.

Israel has been launching a large-scale offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip to retaliate against a Hamas rampage through the southern Israeli border on Oct. 7, 2023, during which about 1,200 people were killed and more than 200 taken hostage. 

People inspect destroyed buildings after intense airstrikes in the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah, on March 9, 2024. The Palestinian death toll from ongoing Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip has risen to 30,960 with 72,524 others wounded, the Hamas-run Health Ministry said in a press statement on Saturday. (Photo by Yasser Qudih/Xinhua)

A Palestinian inspects destroyed buildings after intense airstrikes in the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah, on March 9, 2024. The Palestinian death toll from ongoing Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip has risen to 30,960 with 72,524 others wounded, the Hamas-run Health Ministry said in a press statement on Saturday. (Photo by Yasser Qudih/Xinhua)

People inspect destroyed buildings after intense airstrikes in the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah, on March 9, 2024. The Palestinian death toll from ongoing Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip has risen to 30,960 with 72,524 others wounded, the Hamas-run Health Ministry said in a press statement on Saturday. (Photo by Yasser Qudih/Xinhua)

People inspect destroyed buildings after intense airstrikes in the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah, on March 9, 2024. The Palestinian death toll from ongoing Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip has risen to 30,960 with 72,524 others wounded, the Hamas-run Health Ministry said in a press statement on Saturday. (Photo by Yasser Qudih/Xinhua)

People inspect destroyed buildings after intense airstrikes in the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah, on March 9, 2024. The Palestinian death toll from ongoing Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip has risen to 30,960 with 72,524 others wounded, the Hamas-run Health Ministry said in a press statement on Saturday. (Photo by Khaled Omar/Xinhua)

People inspect destroyed buildings after intense airstrikes in the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah, on March 9, 2024. The Palestinian death toll from ongoing Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip has risen to 30,960 with 72,524 others wounded, the Hamas-run Health Ministry said in a press statement on Saturday. (Photo by Khaled Omar/Xinhua)