At least 138 Palestinians were killed in the continuous attacks by Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip from Thursday to Friday. Another 625 were injured. The Gaza Health Ministry announced this information in a statement on Friday evening.
The statement said that a total of 57,268 people have been killed in Gaza so far in the 21-month-long Israeli aggression. The number of injured has reached 135,173.

However, the ministry fears that the actual number of casualties may be higher. They said that many people are still buried under the rubble and have not been rescued.

The IDF began its operation in Gaza in October 2023. According to the ministry, the total number of deaths in the Israeli forces' operation in Gaza since Monday has reached 54,927. In addition, another 126,227 Palestinians have been injured.

On October 7, 2023, fighters from Hamas, the armed political group that controls the Gaza Strip, entered Israeli territory and carried out an ambush. They killed 1,200 people indiscriminately and took 251 hostages.

Israeli forces launched an operation in Gaza that day to respond to Hamas' attack and free the hostages. After more than 15 months of continuous operations, Israel declared a ceasefire in Gaza on January 19 under pressure from the United States and other mediating countries.

But before the two-month pause ended, the IDF resumed its operation in Gaza on March 18. In the second phase of this operation, 6,710 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza in the past two and a half months and about 23,584 others have been injured.

At least 35 of the 251 hostages taken by Hamas fighters are believed to be still alive. The IDF has announced that it will rescue them through a military operation.

Source: Anadolu Agency