DUBAI, December 22. /TASS/. More than 4,600 Palestinians have been detained by the Israeli military in the West Bank since tensions escalated on October 7, the Palestinian news agency WAFA reported.

According to its information, most of the arrests took place in Hebron (more than 1,000 people). Among the detainees are 260 children and about 160 women. At the same time, the Israeli authorities still refuse to disclose any details about the number and fate of detained Palestinians from the Gaza Strip, the news agency pointed out.

Tensions flared up again in the Middle East on October 7 when militants from the Gaza Strip-based radical Palestinian movement Hamas staged a surprise attack on Israeli territory from Gaza, killing residents of Israeli border settlements and taking over 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. In response, Israel declared a total blockade of the Gaza Strip, home to 2.3 million Palestinians, 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.