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Palestinian ambassador to Russia confirms Israel letting some water into Gaza

Abdel Hafiz Nofal pointed out that Israel cut off water and electricity to Gaza in the first days of the conflict.

MOSCOW, October 16. /TASS/. Israel has started supplying limited amounts of water to the Gaza Strip, Palestinian Ambassador to Russia Abdel Hafiz Nofal told TASS.

"There is information that today they started to let a little bit of water in," the diplomat said in response to a related question.

He pointed out that Israel cut off water and electricity to Gaza in the first days of the conflict. "They even refused to accept aid from Egypt, Jordanian airplanes, Bahrain, the UAE, Qatar, Egypt," the ambassador continued. "And to this day, points are still closed there."

According to the diplomat, the Israeli side gave an order that "all the people (from the northern part of the Gaza Strip - TASS), almost 1 mln, leave their homes and move to the southern side of the Gaza Strip, to the Egyptian border." "This is a very difficult situation," Nofal concluded.

Tensions flared up in the Middle East after Hamas militants from the Gaza Strip attacked Israeli territory. Hamas views its attack as a response to Israeli authorities’ steps against the Al-Aqsa Mosque on Jerusalem’s Temple Mount. Israel declared a total blockade of the Gaza Strip and launched bombardments of the enclave and some areas in Lebanon and Syria. Clashes are also reported in the West Bank. More than 2,800 Palestinians have been killed in clashes and strikes, while over 11,200 have suffered wounds since the renewed outbreak of violence began. In Israel, more than 1,500 people have lost their lives and over 4,000 have been wounded.