GENEVA, November 21. /TASS/. One hundred and eight employees of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) were killed in the Gaza Strip, UNRWA Commissioner General Philippe Lazzarini said.

"108 UNRWA staff members are confirmed killed. I never believed that as Commissioner General I would be planning memorial services for my staff in advance. This cannot continue," he wrote on his X (formerly Twitter) page.

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, killing residents of Israeli border settlements and taking more than 200 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. Israel has announced a total blockade of the Gaza Strip and has been delivering air strikes on Gaza as well as some parts of Lebanon and Syria. Clashes are also underway in the West Bank.

According to the latest figures, over 1,400 people have died in the conflict on the Israeli side, with over 5,200 wounded. According to the Ministry of Health of the enclave, Israel's strikes on Gaza killed more than 7,000 Palestinians and wounded almost 18,500.