Since October 7, 92 UN employees have been killed in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict zone, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said at the conference.
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“The number of journalists killed in this conflict is unprecedented in this period anywhere in the world. But you can imagine what it’s like to run an organization that works in the field when 92 of our colleagues have already been killed. It’s very difficult,” Guterres said.
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On October 7, Israel was subjected to an unprecedented-scale rocket attack from the Gaza Strip as part of Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, announced by the military wing of the Palestinian Hamas movement.
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After this, the organization’s fighters entered the border areas in southern Israel, where they opened fire on both military and civilians, and also took more than 200 hostages. In Israel, according to local authorities, more than 1.4 thousand people were killed, including 300 military personnel, and more than 5 thousand were injured.
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In response, the Israel Defense Forces launched Operation Iron Swords against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Within a few days, the Israeli military took control of all populated areas near the border with Gaza and began carrying out air strikes on targets, including civilians, in the strip. Israel also announced a complete blockade of the Gaza Strip: the supply of water, food, electricity, medicine, and fuel was stopped.
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The death toll in Israeli strikes on the Gaza Strip exceeded 10.5 thousand, and more than 26 thousand people were injured.