Gaza, Feb 12 (IANS): The death toll in the Israeli army's heavy strikes on the southern city of Rafah and surrounding areas of the Gaza Strip exceeded 100 on Monday, Palestinian news agency WAFA said.

About 40 airstrikes on the Rafah area in the early hours of Monday were conducted by the Israeli army, with intensive ground shelling, it said.

The Israeli army said in a statement that it conducted "a series of strikes on terror targets" in southern Gaza on Monday, but did not provide other details.

The death toll of Palestinians from Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip has risen to 28,176 since October 7, 2023, with 67,784 others being injured, the Gaza-based Health Ministry said in a statement.

Since the start of the Israel-Hamas conflict in Gaza, about half of the residents there have fled to Rafah, adjacent to Egypt, in search of safety, Xinhua news agency reported.

The border city, which receives food and medicine aid from foreign countries and UN agencies through the Rafah crossing, is crowded with tents on empty agricultural lands, in schools and along roadsides.