The Hamas-run health ministry on Sunday said 15,523 people had died in the Gaza Strip since the start of the war with Israel.
Seventy percent of the Palestinians killed in the war between Israel and the militant group, which runs Gaza, were women and children, ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra said, adding that 41,316 people had been wounded.
Israel has been targeting Gaza with an air and ground campaign in response to an attack by Hamas militants on southern Israel on October 7 in which around 1,200 were killed and 240 taken hostage, according to Israeli authorities.
“During the past hours, only 316 dead and 664 wounded were removed from rubble and taken to hospitals, but many others are still under the rubble,” Qudra said.
Israel vowed to eliminate Hamas in response to the October 7 attack.
A week-long truce, brokered with the help of Qatar and backed by Egypt and the United States, led to the release of 80 Israeli hostages in exchange for 240 Palestinian prisoners.
But that pause collapsed and hostilities resumed on Friday, with both sides blaming each other for violating the truce conditions.
