TEL AVIV, September 26. /TASS/. At least 1,038,426 tons of humanitarian aid have entered the Gaza Strip since tensions escalated in the Middle East last October, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in the occupied Palestinian territories said.

According to its information, more than 801,000 tons were food, about 76,000 tons - equipment for the organization of temporary shelters, 51,000 tons - water, more than 26,000 tons - medicines, and 38,000 tons - mixed humanitarian aid.

Tensions flared up again in the Middle East on October 7, 2023, when Hamas militants staged a surprise attack on Israeli territory from Gaza, killing residents of Israeli border settlements and taking over 250 hostages, including women, children and the elderly. Hamas described its attack as retaliation for the aggressive actions taken by 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, launching air strikes on Gaza as well as some parts of Lebanon and Syria before starting a ground operation in the Palestinian enclave.