Palestinians line up for free food distribution during the ongoing Israeli air and ground offensive in Khan Younis, Gaza Strip, Feb 2, 2024. (PHOTO / AP)

GAZA / CAIRO - The Palestinian death toll from the ongoing Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip has risen to 27,238, the Hamas-run Health Ministry said on Saturday.

A total of 66,452 Palestinians have been wounded since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas conflict on Oct 7, 2023, ministry spokesperson Ashraf Al-Qedra said in a statement.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and his Norwegian counterpart Espen Barth Eide emphasized the key role played by UNRWA in distributing aid in Gaza and dealing with various aspects of the humanitarian crisis in the besieged Palestinian enclave

During the past 24 hours, the Israeli army killed 107 Palestinians and wounded 165 others, according to Al-Qedra.

In the early hours of Saturday, at least 24 Palestinians, including children and women, were killed as Israeli airstrikes and artillery bombardments struck houses in the Gazan cities of Deir al-Balah and Rafah, according to the official Palestinian news agency WAFA.

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Meanwhile, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry held phone talks on Saturday with his Norwegian counterpart Espen Barth Eide, discussing the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip and the challenges facing the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees.

The two ministers stressed "the importance of mobilizing resources and international support to intensify the delivery of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip as soon as possible and remove impediments hindering its flow into the Strip," the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

They agreed to continue consultation and coordination "to support efforts aimed at containing the crisis and curbing its humanitarian repercussions on the Palestinian people."

Shoukry and Barth Eide also addressed the challenges facing UNRWA in carrying out its relief tasks following the decision of a number of states to suspend their funding to the agency, "which would further exacerbate the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip."

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The two top diplomats emphasized the key role played by UNRWA in distributing aid in Gaza and dealing with various aspects of the humanitarian crisis in the besieged Palestinian enclave.

A number of UNRWA donors, including Canada, Australia, Britain, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Finland, Estonia, Japan, Austria and Romania, have recently joined the United States in pausing funding for UNRWA after Israel accused several employees of the agency of involvement in the attack of Gaza-ruling Hamas on southern Israel on Oct 7 last year.

A child stares at the rubble of a building destroyed by Israeli bombardment on Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on February 4, 2024, as fighting continues between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas group. (PHOTO / AFP)

On Saturday, the Norwegian foreign minister wrote on social media platform X that "we cannot abandon the Palestinian people. Norway stands fast to our commitments. I urge fellow donor countries to reflect on the wider consequences of cutting UNRWA off."