TEL AVIV, October 11. /TASS/. The Israeli army has established a restricted military zone around the Gaza Strip extending to the southern coastal city of Ashkelon, according to a map of the special zone distributed by the army's press service.

The map shows that the forbidden area in the north reaches the outskirts of Ashkelon, the closest Israeli city to the Palestinian enclave. It is located 12 kilometers north of the border with the Gaza Strip and has a population of 149,000 people.

A number of Israeli settlements, including the towns of Sderot and Netivot, are inside the no-go zone. The military said that entering the designated area is categorically forbidden and will be penalized.

"The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) emphasizes that the Gaza Division area has been declared a closed military zone, and stresses that entry is strictly forbidden and constitutes a serious security risk, as well as a criminal offense. IDF servicemen are conducting combat operations in the area, and entering the area endangers lives and impairs IDF operations," the statement said.

Tensions flared up again in the Middle East on October 7 when militants from the radical Palestinian Hamas movement staged a surprise attack on Israeli territory from the Gaza Strip. Hamas described its attack as a response to the aggressive actions of Israeli authorities against the Al-Aqsa Mosque in the Old City of Jerusalem. Israel has announced a total blockade of the Gaza Strip as it has been delivering rocket attacks on Gaza as well as some districts in Lebanon and Syria.

According to the latest official data, more than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed since the renewed outbreak of violence, while over 5,100 others have suffered wounds. In Israel, over 1,200 people have lost their lives and roughly 3,000 have been wounded in clashes, including on the West Bank of the Jordan River.