Gaza, Jan 5 (IANS): As the fighting between Israeli forces and Hamas in Gaza has intensified, the number of people killed in the besieged enclave since the war began in October 2023 has increased to 22,438, the Palestinian Ministry of Health said.

In its latest update, the Ministry said of the overall toll, 70 per cent are said to be children and women.

In the past 24 hours, at least 125 Palestinians were killed 318 others injured, it added.

Meanwhile, the number of injured persons has also shot up to 57,614,

In a statement late Thursday, the Health Ministry spokesperson Ashraf al-Qedra said that 99 health workers, including the directors of three major hospitals in Gaza City and north, have been held by Israeli forces.

Al-Qedra warned that in the southern city of Khan Younis, the Nasser Medical Complex and the Al-Amal Hospital affiliated with the Red Crescent Society, have come under a series of Israeli strikes, calling on international institutions to take urgent action to protect hospitals and ensure access for the wounded and sick to medical facilities.

By the end of 2023,1.9 million people, or nearly 85 per cent of the total population of Gaza, were estimated to be internally displaced due to the raging war, including many who have been displaced multiple times, as families have been forced to move repeatedly in search of safety.

Meanwhile in the West Bank, the death toll as of Friday increased to 314, including 80 children, according to authorities.