BUENOS AIRES, October 31. /TASS/. The Bolivian government is breaking diplomatic ties with Israel because of its attacks on the Gaza Strip, Deputy Foreign Minister Freddy Mamani said on Tuesday.

"Bolivia has decided to break diplomatic relations with Israel," he told a press conference broadcast by Bolivia TV.

Bolivia sees Israel's actions as "crimes against humanity," Minister of the Presidency Maria Nela Prada said. "We demand an end to the attacks on the Gaza Strip, which have already claimed thousands of civilian lives," she said at the press conference.

Tensions flared up again in the Middle East on October 7 when Hamas militants 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 on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem’s Old City. Israel announced a total blockade of the Gaza Strip and has been delivering rocket attacks on Gaza as well as some districts in Lebanon and Syria.