The Palestinian death toll in the Gaza Strip has risen to 61,330, with 152,359 others injured since the conflict between Hamas and Israel erupted on October 7, 2023, Gaza's health authorities said in a statement on Friday.
Over the past 24 hours, Israeli attacks have claimed 72 Palestinian lives and injured 314 others, according to the statement.
Of those casualties, 16 were killed and 250 injured near aid distribution sites, the statement added.
Since the U.S.- and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) began distributing aid in Gaza on May 27, a total of 1,772 aid seekers have been killed in Gaza, with 12,249 others injured, the statement said.
Hospitals in Gaza recorded four more deaths due to famine and malnutrition over the past 24 hours, health officials said on Friday.
Since the Israeli blockade of the enclave began in March, 201 people -- including 98 children -- have died from hunger-related causes.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said Friday it had killed the deputy commander of Hamas's Beit Hanoun Battalion and the head of Palestinian Islamic Jihad's anti-tank missile unit during operations in Gaza. Both men, according to the IDF, took part in the Hamas-led attacks on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
The military added that its airstrikes also killed several other Hamas and Islamic Jihad militants, while artillery units destroyed a rocket launcher in northern Gaza along with a weapons depot and buildings deemed a threat to Israeli forces.
In southern Gaza, the IDF said troops from the IDF's 36th Division continued operations in Khan Younis, destroying underground infrastructure, weapons depots, and Hamas cells.
Hamas and Islamic Jihad have not yet responded to the Israeli statements.
Palestinian death toll in Gaza rises to 61,330
