UPDATE - Head of Islamic University in Gaza killed in Israeli airstrike

ADDS EDUCATION MINISTER STATEMENT, DETAILS

By Anadolu staff

ISTANBUL (AA) - The Rector of the Gaza Islamic University in the Gaza Strip, Sufyan Tayeh, and his family, were killed Saturday in an Israeli airstrike, according to sources.

The academic was killed in an airstrike in the Al-Faluja area in Jabalia in the northeastern Gaza Strip.

"Academician and President of the Islamic University Dr. Sufian Tayeh and his family were martyred today as a result of (an Israeli) occupation airstrike on the Faluja area in Gaza," Education Minister Mahmoud Abu Mouis said in a statement.

According to the local Quds News Network, Tayeh was classified in 2021 being in the 2% of the best researchers in the world.

Born in 1971 in northern Gaza, Tayeh was a researcher in physics and applied mathematics.

The death toll from Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip has soared to 15,207 since the outbreak of the conflict on Oct. 7, the Gaza Ministry of Health said Saturday.

The Israeli army resumed bombing the Gaza Strip early Friday after declaring an end to a week-long humanitarian pause.

At least 193 Palestinians have been killed and 652 injured since Friday in Israeli airstrikes, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.

Israel launched relentless air and ground attacks on the Gaza Strip following a cross-border attack by the Palestinian resistance group, Hamas, on Oct. 7.

The official Israeli death toll stands at 1,200.

*Writing by Mahmoud Barakat and Ahmed Asmar