The prevailing conflict in the Middle East, reignited on October 7, continues to exact a heavy toll on humanitarian efforts, with the death toll among the staff of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) escalating to 70, as disclosed in a recent statement by the agency on its official website.
Within the last 24 hours, the conflict has claimed the lives of three more UNRWA personnel, elevating the total number of fatalities to 70 since the onset of heightened hostilities on October 7.
The agency's statement further delineated the dire living conditions of some 690,000 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), who are currently seeking refuge in 149 installations dispersed across the Gaza Strip.
An estimated count of 160,000 individuals have sought shelter in 57 designated safe zones in the northern part of the Strip and in Gaza City.
The exigent circumstances have incapacitated UNRWA's ability to extend requisite services to the displaced populace in the mentioned locales.
The spark that rekindled the flames of conflict on October 7 emanated from a surprise encroachment by militants from the Palestinian radical faction, Hamas, based in Gaza, into Israeli territories.
This offensive was portrayed by Hamas as a retaliatory act against the perceived aggressive actions by Israeli authorities towards the Al-Aqsa Mosque situated on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem’s Old City.
In a counter-reaction, Israel enforced a comprehensive blockade on the Gaza Strip, which harbors a population of 2.3 million Palestinians, and initiated a series of air strikes targeting the enclave alongside specific regions in Lebanon and Syria.
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