The Palestinian death toll in the Gaza Strip has risen to 50,609, with 115,063 injured, following nearly 18 months of Israeli military operations since October 7, 2023, according to Gaza health authorities on Friday, Reuters reports.
In the past 24 hours alone, Israeli military operations claimed the lives of 86 people and left 287 others wounded, the authorities reported.
Since Israel resumed its military operations in Gaza on March 18, after a ceasefire collapsed, 1,249 Palestinians have been killed and 3,022 injured.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement on Friday that its forces continued operations in the northern Gaza Strip to strengthen control and expand the "security zone".
On Friday, Israeli airstrikes targeted Gaza City in northern Gaza, Rafah and Khan Younis in southern Gaza, and some other places, killing more than 30 people, according to Gaza health authorities.
Al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, said Friday that half of the living Israeli hostages are in areas that Israel has issued evacuation orders recently.
In a press statement, Abu Obeida, spokesperson for the al-Qassam Brigades, said the armed wing decided not to relocate the hostages from these areas but to keep them under strict security measures, warning that their lives are at risk.
If Israel is concerned about the lives of these hostages, it must immediately engage in serious negotiations to secure their evacuation or release, Obeida said.
