DUBAI, July 18. /TASS/. At least 81 Palestinians were killed in Israeli strikes on the central Gaza Strip in the past day, the Qatar-based Al Jazeera TV channel reports.

The strikes targeted residential buildings and temporary accommodation centers run by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). The Israeli army attacked the Nuseirat refugee camp and the western part of the city of Deir al-Balah, including the Al-Mawasi neighborhood and the Al-Bureij refugee camp, the broadcaster said.

According to Al Jazeera, as many as 38,794 people have been killed since the start of Israel’s military operations against Palestine on October 7, 2023, and another 89,364 Palestinians 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 launched later. Clashes are also taking place in the West Bank.