More than 700 killed in Gaza in 24-hour period, according to Palestinian Ministry of Health

A total of 704 people in Gaza have been killed in the most recent 24-hour period, the Palestinian Ministry of Health said in a statement Tuesday.

The tally is the highest daily number published since Israeli strikes against Gaza began earlier this month.

The ministry’s statement, issued in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, said there had been 47 “massacres” involving the Israeli military in the last 24 hours. The ministry, which is controlled by Hamas, said those killed included 305 children, 173 women and 78 elderly individuals.

According to the ministry, the latest casualties bring the overall number killed in Gaza to 5,791, which include 2,360 children, 1,421 women, and 295 elderly people. The ministry said there are also 16,297 reported injuries of varying severity and 1,550 missing persons reports, with 870 of those being of children.

More background: The tally comes as Israeli strikes appear to be ramping up; overnight blasts on Sunday were among the most sustained bombardments of northern Gaza in the past two weeks, according to a CNN team on the ground in southern Israel. The Israel Defense Forces is preparing for a potential ground operation in the besieged territory, and huge numbers of troops and tanks have already massed at the border.

Israel is preparing for a “multilateral operation” on Hamas from the “air, ground and sea,” Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said Monday.