CAIRO, Jan 1 (Reuters) - A total of 21,978 Palestinians have been killed and 57,697 have been wounded in Israeli strikes in Gaza since Oct. 7, the health ministry in Gaza said on Monday.

The figures include 156 Palestinians killed and 246 injured in the past 24 hours, the ministry added. (Reporting by Muhammad Al Gebaly and Nadine Awadallah; Editing by Jan Harvey)