The Hamas delegation highly appreciated Putin’s position and the efforts of Russian diplomacy

Representatives of the Palestinian organization Hamas, who came to Moscow for negotiations with Deputy Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation Mikhail Bogdanov, highly appreciated the position of Russian President Vladimir Putin and the ministry on the Middle East conflict.

It is noted that the delegation was headed by the head of the movement’s Politburo, Musa Abu Marzuk.

“The delegation of the movement highly appreciated the position of Russian President Vladimir Putin and the active diplomatic efforts of the Russian Federation”Hamas representatives wrote on their Telegram channel.

Let us remind you that the meeting took place on October 26. As reported by the Foreign Ministry, the release of hostages and the evacuation of Russian citizens from the Gaza Strip were discussed.

On October 7, a massive missile strike was launched against Israel. The Islamist movement Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip, claimed responsibility for the attack. Hamas announced its Operation Al-Aqsa Flood. In response, Israel launched the counter-terrorism Operation Iron Swords.

Within a week, the Israeli army was put on alert. The IDF began retaliating with large-scale missile strikes that continued for a week. On October 14, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced the next stage of the operation in the Gaza Strip. The IDF said that “Israeli Army battalions are deployed throughout the country and are increasing combat readiness for the next phases of the war, with an emphasis on significant ground operations.”

However, the start of the offensive was delayed. On the morning of October 15, Israel opened a humanitarian corridor in the Gaza Strip for three hours to allow civilians to move to the south of the enclave. Near the border of the Gaza Strip, the Israeli army has assembled a huge strike force.

Preparations for the operation in the Gaza Strip took place against the background of reports of the movement of US Navy ships to the Middle East. Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin earlier said that the US military had also strengthened its fighter squadrons in the region. The American aircraft carrier Gerald Ford, as part of a strike group, arrived in the eastern Mediterranean on October 11. The second American aircraft carrier, Dwight Eisenhower, set sail for the Mediterranean on Saturday, October 14.

Shelling of Israeli cities continues from the Gaza Strip. Thus, strikes were carried out on Tel Aviv and its suburbs, and on October 15, Sderot came under fire again. One person was killed when the town of Shtula was shelled from the Lebanese side.

On October 13, the Israel Defense Forces gave residents of the northern Gaza Strip a day to evacuate to the south of the country. The UN emphasized that the migration of 1.1 million people would lead to a humanitarian catastrophe. On October 15, Israel announced the opening of a corridor for civilians, but for three hours. On October 16, a ceasefire lasting five hours was introduced in the southern Gaza Strip at 09:00 Moscow time.

On October 17, it became known about an attack on a hospital in Gaza. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas declared three days of mourning.

On October 18, US President Joe Biden arrived in Israel. However, instead of trying to end the conflict, he unconditionally supported the actions of the Netanyahu government and the IDF. Palestinian Legislative Council member Mustafa Barghouti called Biden’s visit to Tel Aviv a disastrous mistake, pushing the IDF toward a ground invasion.

On the evening of October 23, Hamas released two elderly hostages – Israelis Nurit Yitzhak-Cooper and Yocheved Lifshitz. Previously, the organization released several US citizens. At the same time, employees of the International Committee of the Red Cross announced that they had agreed to the release of about 50 hostages with dual citizenship. After this, the IDF promised to pay rewards to residents of the Gaza Strip for any information about captured Israelis.

According to the Russian embassy, ​​two Russian citizens are being held captive by Hamas, but their location could not be determined. According to Russian Presidential Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin’s position is that all hostages must be released.

On October 24, the head of Al-Shifa Hospital in the Gaza Strip announced a lack of beds for the wounded and a critical situation. Shortly thereafter, French President Emmanuel Macron proposed creating an international coalition to fight Hamas.

After this, at an open debate of the UN Security Council on the situation in the Middle East, Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki accused the organization of an inexcusable failure to resolve the conflict. Previously, the Security Council did not adopt a draft resolution on a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, developed by Russia. As Vasily Nebenzya, the permanent representative of the Russian Federation to the organization, noted, the reason for this is that the West is opposed to supporting the initiative put forward by our country. Later, the United States also vetoed the draft resolution developed by Brazil. At the same time, according to sources REN TV, Washington sent its own version of the document to the UN, which does not contain a call for a ceasefire. Nebenzya said that Russia will not support the project precisely because of the lack of this call.

On October 25, Israel began denying visas to UN representatives. The reason was the words of the organization’s Secretary General Antonio Guterres, who condemned the Hamas attacks, but called for remembering that they did not occur without reason, but because of the “suffocating” occupation of Palestinian territories by Israel. After this, Israel’s permanent representative to the UN, Gilad Erdan, called on the secretary general to resign, and the Israeli Foreign Ministry accused Guterres of “justifying terrorism” and having a biased position.

On the 26th, the IDF press service announced that the updated number of hostages held by Hamas militants was 224 people.