The Palestinian death toll from indiscriminate Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip has hit 2,750, a quarter of them children, the Health Ministry confirmed Monday.

The number of wounded has climbed to 9,700, while over 1,000 people are believed to be trapped under the rubble, according to rescuers.

In a previous statement, it said over 750 children were among the people killed in the Israeli attacks.


Health authorities also said there were 58 fatalities in the occupied West Bank, along with at least 1,250 injuries.

More than 1,000 people have been buried under rubble in the Gaza Strip during the Israeli army's bombardment, according to Palestinian sources.

There were injured and dead among them, the civil defense authorities in the Gaza Strip said Sunday. Many of those affected were rescued alive from under the rubble of destroyed buildings 24 hours after the bombings, it added.

Last weekend, in a dramatic escalation of Middle East tensions, Israeli forces launched a massive bombardment of the Gaza Strip, in response to a surprise incursion of Israeli territories by the Palestinian resistance group Hamas.

Hamas said it carried out Operation Al-Aqsa Flood against Israel in retaliation for the storming of the Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem and Israeli settlers' growing violence against Palestinians.

The Israeli military has launched Operation Swords of Iron against Hamas targets within the Gaza Strip.