GAZA CITY, Palestine

The Palestinian death toll from ongoing Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip has surged to 20,674, the Health Ministry in the territory said Monday.

Ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra also said that 54,536 people had been injured in the months-long offensive.

Israel continues to bombard the Gaza Strip from the air and land in retaliation for an Oct. 7 cross-border attack by the Palestinian resistance group Hamas.

Around 1,200 Israelis are believed to have been killed in the Hamas attack.

The Israeli onslaught has left Gaza in ruins, with half of the coastal territory's housing damaged or destroyed and nearly 2 million people displaced within the densely populated enclave, with shortages of food and clean water endemic.