DUBAI, July 17. /TASS/. At least 48 people were killed in three Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip in less than an hour, the Qatar-based Al Jazeera TV channel reports.

At least 25 people were killed at a United Nations-run school in central Gaza’s Nuseirat area; 18 people lost their lives in Khan Yunis in southern Gaza; and five people were killed in Beit Lahiya in the enclave’s north.

Al Jazeera points out that 38,713 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have been killed since the start of Israeli military operations against Gaza, while over 89,000 people have suffered injuries.

Tensions in the Middle East flared up again on October 7, 2023, after militants from the radical Palestinian group Hamas launched a surprise incursion into Israeli territory from the Gaza Strip, killing residents of border communities and taking people hostage. In response, Israel announced a total blockade of Gaza and started carrying out strikes on targets in the Strip, as well as on certain areas in Lebanon and Syria; a ground operation was also launched. Clashes are also taking place in the West Bank.