DUBAI, October 22. /TASS/. At least 63 employees of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) have been killed in the Gaza Strip since October 7 when the Palestinian-Israeli conflict escalated, the Al Jazeera said on Monday, citing a UNWRA statement.

According to the agency, some 672,000 displaced persons are finding shelter at 149 UNRWA centers in the Palestinian enclave.

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.