TEL AVIV, November 17. /TASS/. At least 144 trucks carrying international humanitarian cargo entered the Gaza Strip through the Rafah crossing, Israel’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) said on X (formerly Twitter).

According to the statement, 88 trucks delivered food to the Palestinian enclave, 21 - medicines, 18 - water, seven - essentials for temporary accommodation centers and the other ten carried miscellaneous humanitarian consignments.

Tensions in the Middle East flared up again on October 7 when Hamas militants launched a surprise incursion into Israeli territory from the Gaza Strip, killing many Israeli kibbutz residents living near the Gaza border and abducting more than 200 Israelis, including women, children and the elderly.

Tensions flared up in the Middle East after Hamas militants from the Gaza Strip attacked Israeli territory on October 7, when many Israelis living in the settlements near the border were killed and more than 200 people, including children, women and the elderly, were taken hostage.

Hamas views its attack as a response to Israeli authorities’ steps against the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. 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.