Gaza, Oct 9 (IANS): Since Israel began carrying out airstrikes on the Gaza Strip in response to the Hamas militant group's surprise attack on October 7, the death toll in the besieged enclave increased to 493 on Monday, with 2,751 people injured, according to Palestinian health authorities.

In a statement sent to Xinhua news agency, the Hamas-run Health Ministry said the victims included 91 children and 61 women, who were killed when Israeli airstrikes hit their houses .

Among the injuries, 244 were children and 151 were women, the Ministry added.

Meanwhile, Israel has maintained its death toll at more than 700.

As of Monday, a total of 123,538 people have been internally displaced in Gaza in the three days since the Israel-Hamas conflict broke out, according to UN agencies.

In a statement, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said: "More than 17,500 families, comprising over 123,538 people, have been internally displaced in Gaza, mostly due to fear, protection concerns and the destruction of their homes."

Also in its latest update, the UN Relief and Works Agencyfor Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) said it was currently sheltering 73,538 internally displaced people (IDPs) in 64 of its schools in all areas in the Gaza Strip.

Adnan Abu Hasna, a spokesperson for the UNRWA, expects the number of displaced people to further increase and said: "There's electricity in these schools, we provide them with a meal, clean water, psychological support and medical treatment."

The Agency also claimed that an UNRWA school sheltering more than 225 displaced people in the Gaza Strip was directly hit by an airstrike.

No casualties were recorded among the displaced but the school sustained significant structural damage.

There are 2.3 million Palestinians living in Gaza.

Before launching its retaliatory air strikes on October 7, Israel warned people living in certain areas to leave.