Death toll from Israel's Gaza onslaught climbs to 815

The Palestinian death toll from Israel's devastating military offensive in the Gaza Strip rose to 815 on Friday, a Health Ministry official said.

"At least 815 people have been killed and 5260 others injured in the ongoing Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip," said ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qodra. "At least 16 People were killed in fresh Israeli airstrikes and artillery shelling on Friday," he said.

al-Qodra said the fatalities included 200 children, 97 women and 52 elder people.

"Another woman succumbed to wounds she sustained late on Thursday during an Israeli strike on her home," he said.

A pregnant woman was killed by another Israeli strike on her home in the central Gaza Strip city of Deir Al-Balah.

Three Gazans were killed earlier on Friday by Israeli strikes on homes and farmlands in different parts of the Gaza Strip.

On Thursday, more than 15 Palestinian civilians were killed when the Israeli army shelled a school run by the U.N.'s Palestinian refugees agency (UNRWA) in the northern Gaza Strip. Dozens of other fatalities were reported in the town of Khuza'a in the southern city of Khan Younis, which has remained under fierce Israeli bombardment since Wednesday.

Israel has stepped up its onslaught on eastern Khan Younis since Wednesday, leaving an unknown number of dead and injured under the rubble, according to medics at the scene.

Since July 7, Israel has pummeled the Gaza Strip - from air, land and sea - with the ostensible aim of shalting Palestinian rocket fire. One week ago, Israel expanded its offensive to include ground operations, sending thousands of troops into the embattled coastal enclave.

According to official Israeli figures, 34 Israelis -32 soldiers and two civilians - have been killed since hostilities began.

Israel's operation "Protective Edge" is the self-proclaimed Jewish state's third major offensive against the densely-populated Gaza Strip, which is home to some 1.8 million Palestinians, within the last six years.

In 2008/9, over 1500 Palestinians were killed - the vast majority of them civilians - during Israel's three-week-long "Operation Cast Lead."