Gaza, Dec. 19, (dpa/GNA) – The number of Palestinians killed in the Gaza Strip has risen to 19,453 since the start of the war, the Hamas-controlled health authority there said on Monday.

That was around 850 more deaths since last Wednesday. In addition, 52,286 people have been injured, the authority’s spokesman, Ashraf al-Kudra said.

The figures cannot be independently verified.

The Gaza war was triggered by the worst massacre in Israel’s history, carried out by terrorists from the Islamist Hamas and other extremist groups on October 7 in Israel near the border with Gaza. More than 1,200 people were killed on the Israeli side as a result, including at least 850 civilians.

GNA