Death toll in Gaza from Israeli attacks rises to 30,717

The Palestinian death toll from ongoing Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip has risen to 30,717 with 72,156 others wounded, the Hamas-run Health Ministry said in a press statement on Wednesday. During the last 24 hours, the Israeli army killed 86 Palestinians and wounded 113 others, it added. This brings the total death toll to 30,717 and injuries to 72,156, since the Israel-Hamas war broke out on October 7, 2023, Xinhua news agency reported. The statement noted that some victims remained under the rubble amid heavy bombardment and a lack of civil defence and ambulance crews. 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 October 7, 2023, during which about 1,200 people were killed and more than 200 were taken hostage. Meanwhile, a Hezbollah fighter was killed, and six “civilians” wounded on Wednesday in Israeli air strikes targeting several towns and villages in the border region of southern Lebanon, Lebanese military sources told the media. The military sources, who spoke anonymously, said that one of the raids targeted a house in the southern town of Bint Jbeil, killing a person inside and wounding another. They added that another raid also destroyed a house in the southeast village of Dibbine, wounding five civilians, including two children, Xinhua news agency reported. Meanwhile, Hezbollah said its fighters attacked several Israeli sites of Kiryat Shmona, Ruwaisat Al-Alam, and Avivim. The Lebanon-Israel border has been witnessing increased tension since October 8, 2023, after Hezbollah fired dozens of rockets toward Israel in support of the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, prompting Israel to respond by firing heavy artillery toward southeastern Lebanon. The confrontations between Hezbollah and Israel have killed 340 people on the Lebanese side, including 227 Hezbollah members and 65 civilians, according to Lebanese se