(Reuters) – Most stock markets in the Gulf region ended lower on Monday, extending their slide for an eighth straight session amid concerns over the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.

It continued further airstrikes on Gaza today, while its soldiers clashed on the ground with militants of the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) inside the besieged Palestinian territory during limited strikes.

The health ministry in the Gaza Strip said at least 5,087 Palestinians, including 2,055 children, had been killed as a result of two weeks of Israeli bombardment.

It fell 1.9 percent, hurt by a 4.5 percent drop in Elm Company shares and a 0.3 percent drop in oil major Saudi Aramco (Tadaul: ).

It announced the launch day of the annual eSports World Cup and includes the world’s most popular games with the largest prize money in eSports history.

The Dubai index gave up its early gains to close down 0.6 percent, its eighth straight session of decline. Shares in Emirates NBD Bank, the emirate’s largest bank, fell 2.1 percent.

It also fell by 0.3 percent.

CFI’s global director of education and research, George Khoury, said the Abu Dhabi stock market hit record lows last week, seeing continued selling pressures with uncertainty due to ongoing geopolitical concerns and volatility.

Oil prices fell, a key catalyst for financial markets in the Gulf region, as investors continued to focus on the situation in the Middle East in light of diplomatic efforts to contain the conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas).

Outside the Gulf, the leading index rose two percent after shares in Egypt Fertilizers ( EGX: ) jumped 20 percent.

(Reporting by Atiq Sharif in Bangalore – Produced by Muhammad Ali Faraj for Arabic Bulletin – Editing by Muhammad Muhammad)