DUBAI, Jan 23, 2025 (BSS/TASS) - As many as 212 bodies have been retrieved from under the debris of ruined houses in the Gaza Strips after the ceasefire came into effect, the Al Jazeera television channel reported.

According to Palestine's health ministry, more than 14,200 people, including around 5,000 women and children, are reported missing in the enclave.

Tensions flared up again in the Middle East on October 7 after militants from the Gaza Strip-based radical Palestinian group Hamas launched a surprise incursion on Israeli territory, killing many Israeli kibbutz residents living near the Gaza border and abducting more than 240 Israelis, including women, children and the elderly. Israel declared a total blockade of the Gaza Strip and launched bombardments of the enclave.

On January 15, the mediators announced that Israel and Hamas had reached an agreement on a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and the release of hostages held in the enclave. During the first 42-day phase of the deal, Hamas will release 33 hostages in exchange for Israel freeing hundreds of Palestinian prisoners. The agreement came into effect on January 19.