UNITED NATIONS, July 17. /TASS/. The number of humanitarian workers of the United Nations and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) killed in the Gaza Strip has climbed to 300, which is the highest toll in modern history, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who is currently Chairman of the UN Security Council, said at a meeting on the Middle East, including the Palestinian issue.

"The death toll among humanitarian employees of the UN and non-governmental organizations is already approaching 300. It is the largest one-time loss for the UN in modern history. Many humanitarian workers have been killed along with their families. We offer our condolences to their relatives and loved ones, as well as to the colleagues of the victims," he said.

Lavrov recalled that on May 7, an operation was launched in Rafah, which was the last refuge for 1.5 million Palestinians who had fled there from across Gaza.

"The Rafah crossing was closed. The [Gaza] Strip again turned into ‘the only conflict in the world in which people are not even allowed to flee’, as [UN Secretary General] Antonio Guterres said in 2009, when he was UN High Commissioner for Refugees. Nothing has changed since then, the situation is merely deteriorating," the Russian minister added.

"The Israeli-run border crossings operate experiencing interruptions and severe restrictions. They let through much less cargo than they even did before the current confrontation," Lavrov added.

Tensions flared up in the Middle East after Hamas militants from the Gaza Strip attacked Israeli territory on October 7, 2023, killing residents of border settlements and taking over 240 hostages. In response, Israel launched a military operation in Gaza to eradicate Hamas’ military and political structure and to release all the hostages. In late November 2023, a temporary humanitarian truce was brokered by Egypt and Qatar and lasted a week. According to Israel, 110 hostages were released then. On December 1, the ceasefire was broken and combat operations resumed and are still going on.