Hamas invaders brutally killed at least 1,300 people in a surprise attack on Israel last Saturday (October 7), with the Israeli Government declaring war the following day.

More than 1,500 are reported to have died in Gaza since Israeli retaliatory strikes were launched.

Israel has also imposed a total blockade on the Gaza strip, denying it access for food, fuel, electricity and water.

The violence marked a major escalation in the long-standing conflict between Gaza and Israel.

"Ensuring athlete safety remains the paramount concern for World Aquatics, prompting the decision to relocate the event following recent occurrences in Israel," a World Aquatics statement said.

Originally slated to occur in Eilat from December 1 to 2, the World Cup will take place slightly later in Portugal from December 2 to 3.

The competition will feature the men's and women's Individual 10 kilometre events on December 2 followed by the mixed 4x1500m relay on December 3.

Awards will then be made to the overall men's and women's Open Water Swimming World Cup winners, as well as the newly introduced annual awards for the 2023 season: the World Cup sprint champion and the World Cup junior champion in both men’s and women’s categories.

In the women's overall rankings, Sharon van Rouwendaal of the Netherlands holds the lead with 1,750 points, closely trailed by Germany’s Leonie Beck with 1,740.

Caroline Laure Jouisse of France currently is in third position with 1,300.

Van Rouwendaal also sits in the top spot in the women's sprint rankings with 209, followed by Italy's Ginevra Taddeucci on 122 and France's Aurelie Muller with 105 points.

In the contest for the overall junior women’s title, Spain’s Angela Martinez Guillen, Hungary’s Bettina Fabian, and Kazakhstan’s Diana Taszhanova are all deadlocked with 800 points.

In the men’s overall rankings, Hungary's Kristof Rasovszky leads the pack with 1,900 points, followed closely by Italy's Marcello Guidi in second place with 1,750 points, and Italy's Mario Sanzullo with 1,150 points.

Rasovszky also commands the men’s sprint rankings with 218 points, trailed by Guidi with 131 points and Hungary's David Betlehem with 117 points.

In the race for the overall junior men's title, Germany's Linus Schwedler leads with 1,400 points, followed by Hungary's Honor Kovacs-Seres in second place with 1300 points. 

The Brazilian duo of Bernardo Gavioli and Matheus Melecchi share the third spot, each with 900 points.