Death toll in Gaza rises to 413: health ministry

At least 413 Palestinians were killed, and over 2,300 were wounded by ongoing Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip, said the health ministry in Gaza on Sunday.

In a press statement sent to Xinhua, the ministry said that among the 413 killed, 78 were children and 41 were women.

The ministry added that the number of wounded in the hospitals in Gaza reached 2,300, including 213 children and 140 women, noting that some were in serious and critical conditions.

In the past few hours, Israeli aircraft carried out tens of raids on different areas in the Gaza Strip, including residential homes, agricultural lands, government institutions, and police checkpoints in Gaza, according to Palestinian security sources.

Short videos on social media showed plumes of smoke rising from various areas in the Gaza Strip and large explosions were heard from time to time.

Meanwhile, Israeli army spokesperson Daniel Hagari said to Israeli media outlets that the Air Force destroyed about 800 Hamas targets in Gaza, noting that the soldiers captured dozens of "terrorists" during the fighting in the areas bordering the Strip.

Early Saturday, the Hamas movement launched a surprise attack on Israel, which included the launching of thousands of rockets and the infiltration of dozens of militants into the Israeli towns bordering Gaza.