TEL AVIV, August 1. /TASS/. Israeli President Isaac Herzog has asked world leaders to help free hostages held for 300 days by Palestinian radicals in the Gaza Strip.

"Each second of every minute of every hour of these 300 days is a crime against humanity. <…> To all the leaders of the world who wish for peace in our region, I say clearly: help us bring our hostages home <…>. Help us bring them home now," the Israeli government press office quoted the president as saying.

Tensions flared up again in the Middle East on October 7, 2023, 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 240 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 before the crisis, and has been delivering air strikes on Gaza as well as some parts of Lebanon and Syria. Clashes have also been reported on the West Bank. In late November 2023, a temporary humanitarian ceasefire was brokered by Egypt and Qatar that lasted a week, during which 110 hostages were released, according to Israel. On December 1, the ceasefire was violated and fighting resumed, continuing to this day.