Number of Israeli casualties rises to 3,297 While death toll in Gaza reaches 1,354

The Israeli Ministry of Health has reported that at least 3,297 Israeli citizens were injured in the Hamas attack.

“To date, 3,297 victims have been taken to hospitals,” TASS quotes the ministry as saying.

According to the ministry, 335 victims were seriously injured, and another 581 people received moderate injuries.

In the meantime, at least 1,354 Palestinians were killed and another 6,049 injured in the Gaza Strip, the Palestinian Ministry of Health reported.

“1,354 people were killed, about 6,049 were injured in the Gaza Strip, another 31 people died in the West Bank, about 180 were injured,” the ministry said in a statement published on the Telegram channel.

On October 12, NATO defence ministers expressed solidarity with Israel in the war against Hamas and recognized the country's right to “proportionate protection” from terrorist attacks.

Following the meeting with the Minister of Defence, they called on Palestinian militants to release the hostages.

Meanwhile, Qatari TV channel Al Jazeera has reported that one of the leaders of the radical Palestinian group Islamic Jihad, Abdel Rahman Shehab, died in the Gaza Strip as a result of Israeli shelling.

According to the report, Shehab died along with his family as a result of an Israeli strike on the city of Jabaliya in the north of the Gaza Strip. No additional details have been provided.

A new aggravation of the situation in the Middle East began on October 7 with an attack by militants of the Palestinian radical movement Hamas from the Gaza Strip into Israel.

Hamas explains the attack as a response to the actions of the Israeli authorities against the Al-Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. Israel announced a transition to a state of readiness for war and a complete blockade of the Gaza Strip.

Due to ongoing hostilities number of countries have warned their diplomatic missions against possible terror attacks.

The UK government has called on families of diplomats to leave Israel for at least two months, according to Sky News.

Families of diplomats are asked to leave the country while airports and borders remain open, explained TV channel correspondent Alistair Bunkall. The journalist added that, according to the instructions, the families of diplomats will have to be absent for at least two months.

The information was confirmed to the correspondent by the British Foreign Office.