Death Toll From Israeli Airstrikes on Gaza Strip Rises to 41 - Health Ministry

GAZA (Sputnik) - The death toll following Israeli airstrikes in the Gaza Strip on Sunday increased to 41, the Palestinian Health Ministry said.

"As a result of Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip, 41 people died, including 15 children and four women, and 311 sustained injuries," the ministry said in a statement.

The IDF launched the Breaking Dawn operation against the Islamic Jihad movement in the Gaza Strip on Friday and carried out missile strikes. Following the airstrikes, Ziyad Nakhalah, the leader of Palestinian Islamic Jihad, threatened to retaliate by launching a missile attack on Tel Aviv. Israel introduced a state of emergency and has since been repelling missile attacks while continuing to launch new attacks on the Gaza Strip. Since Friday afternoon, air raid sirens have been heard in areas bordering Gaza in Israel and some central cities of the country.

The IDF said in a statement later on Sunday that about 950 rockets have been fired from the Gaza Strip into Israel, with 750 rockets reaching the Israeli territory since the beginning of the conflict. The IDF added that some 96% of the said rockets have been intercepted by the Iron Dome defense system.

Media reported earlier on Sunday that Israel had agreed to an Egypt-mediated truce with Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ). However, Anwar Abu Taha, a member of PIJ's political bureau, said later on Sunday that the movement has conditions for the ceasefire, including the release of Bassam al-Sadi, a regional head of the group, and the halt in the prosecution of the movement's members.