UNITED NATIONS, July 17. /TASS/. Nearly 40,000 Palestinian civilians were killed and some 90,000 more injured within months of Israel's military operation in the Gaza Strip, 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 result of the large-scale military operation that Israel is holding with its US allies has yields horrifying statistics of casualties and destruction," he said. "Within 300 days, let us say 10 months - there are 40,000 peaceful Palestinians killed and some 90,000 more wounded and the majority of them are women and children."

"This is twice as much if compared to the number of civilian casualties on both sides of the conflict in the southwest of Ukraine over the past ten years," he said.

Lavrov stressed that the Gaza Strip today "lies in ruins," while there is no safe and sustainable access to all those affected and in need.

"Today, the Gaza [Strip] lies in ruins - housing, schools and hospitals have been almost destroyed, while vital civilian infrastructure was put out of order," he continued.

"The Gaza Strip is struck by epidemics of infectious diseases, mass starvation and a real humanitarian catastrophe emerged there," he said. "There is no safe and sustainable access to all those affected and in need amid the ongoing hostilities."

Tensions flared up in the Middle East on October 7, 2023, when militants from the Gaza Strip-based radical Palestinian movement Hamas staged a surprise attack on Israeli territory from Gaza, killing residents of Israeli border settlements and taking over 240 hostages, including women, children and the elderly.

Hamas described its attack as a response to the aggressive actions of Israeli authorities against the Al-Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem’s Old City.

In response, Israel launched a military operation in the Palestinian enclave to destroy Hamas military and political wings and free all hostages. In late November 2023, a temporary humanitarian ceasefire was brokered by Egypt and Qatar, which lasted for a week.

During this time, 110 hostages were released, according to Israel. On December 1, the ceasefire was violated and hostilities resumed, continuing to this day.