GENEVA, June 6. /TASS/. More than 720 people have been killed and over 930 wounded during attacks on medical facilities in the Gaza Strip carried out since October 7, 2023, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on X.

"Since 7 October, WHO has documented 464 attacks on health care in the Gaza Strip. Attacks have resulted in 727 fatalities, 933 injuries, affected 101 health facilities and 113 ambulances. Two-fifths (37%) of attacks were in Gaza City, nearly a quarter (23%) in north Gaza, and over a quarter (28%) in Khan Younis," it said in a statement. "Health care is not a target. WHO calls for the respect of international law and active protection of civilians and health care," the organization stressed.

Tensions flared up again in the Middle East on October 7, 2023, when militants from the Gaza-based Palestinian radical group Hamas staged a surprise incursion into 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. In response, Israel has declared a state of war readiness; announced a total blockade of the Gaza Strip, home to 2.3 million Palestinians; and began delivering air strikes on the enclave and certain parts of Lebanon and Syria, followed by a ground operation in the enclave. Clashes are underway in the West Bank as well. In late November 2023, a temporary humanitarian ceasefire was brokered by Egypt and Qatar, which lasted for a week. During this time, 110 hostages were released, according to the Israeli side. On December 1, the ceasefire was violated and hostilities resumed, continuing to this day.