Gaza, Jan 1 : The number of Palestinian deaths due to Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip has risen to 21,822, with 56,451 injured, the Ministry of Health in Gaza said. In a press statement sent to Xinhua news agency, Ashraf Al-Qedra, the Health Ministry Spokesman said on Sunday that the Israeli army killed 150 and injured 286 others during the past 24 hours. Meanwhile, Palestinian sources told Xinhua that the former Minister of Endowments and Religious Affairs and preacher of Al-Aqsa Mosque, Youssef Salama, was killed in an Israeli air strike on his home in Al-Maghazi refugee camp, in the central Gaza Strip. The sources said that Israeli warplanes bombed Sheikh Salama's house, killing him and wounding a number of his family members, Xinhua news agency reported. The sources added that a paramedic was killed while working in an Israeli raid on the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip. Avichay Adraee, the Israeli army spokesperson said on his 'X' account that the Israeli forces continued the fight in Gaza, and have thwarted ready-to-use explosive devices, destroyed infrastructure of Palestinian factions, and killed 14 militants. Israel launched a large-scale offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip to retaliate against a Hamas rampage in southern Israel on October 7, during which about 1,200 people were killed and more than 200 were taken hostage. /IANS