GAZA - The death toll in the Israeli military operation in the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip on Saturday has risen to 274, with 698 injured, Hamas-run health authorities said in a press statement on Sunday.

The statement noted some victims remained under the rubble amid heavy bombardment and a lack of rescue crews.

During the operation, Israeli forces rescued four hostages from the refugee camp, namely Noa Argamani, 25, Shlomi Ziv, 40, Almog Meir Jan, 21, and Andrey Kozlov, 27, all of them among the about 250 Israelis abducted last October by Hamas while attending the Nova festival, an outdoor music event, in a rural area near the Gaza-Israel fence.

After the Hamas rampage, which killed about 1,200 according to Israeli tallies, Israel launched a retaliatory large-scale offensive in Gaza, which so far has killed 37,084 and injured 84,494 others, according to Gaza's health authorities.