The number of Palestinians killed since Israel launched its war on Gaza in October 2023 has crossed 50,000, according to health officials.

Gaza’s Ministry of Health said on Sunday that at least 50,021 Palestinians have been killed and 113,274 wounded since Israel began attacking the besieged territory following an attack led by the Palestinian group Hamas on October 7, 2023. An estimated 1,139 people were killed and some 250 were taken captive in the attack in southern Israel.

The death toll is expected to rise as Israeli forces struck the surgical building inside Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis late on Sunday, causing a large fire to break out, the health ministry said.

The Israeli army and intelligence agency Shin Bet in a statement confirmed the attack, claiming their forces targeted “a key” Hamas member at the hospital, one of the largest health facilities in Gaza.

Earlier, medical sources told Al Jazeera that at least 46 Palestinians were killed by Israeli attacks Sunday, mostly in the southern Gaza cities of Khan Younis and Rafah.

Israel reignited its war on Gaza after its refusal to enter the second phase of a ceasefire deal it had signed with Hamas in January.

Entering phase 2 would have required Israel to withdraw its forces from Gaza – a condition it agreed to in the deal mediated by Egypt, Qatar and the United States. Even during phase 1, which took effect on January 19 and saw the release of captives in exchange for Palestinians held in Israeli jails, Israel killed more than 150 Palestinians in Gaza.