During talks in Moscow, Russian diplomats called on Friday, during talks in Moscow, to release all its hostages, considering that the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, the target of intense Israeli bombing, was of a “catastrophic magnitude.”
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The Russian Foreign Ministry said after a meeting between Russian Deputy Minister Mikhail Bogdanov and Musa Abu Marzouk, a member of the International Committee of the Red Cross, that “the Russian side insisted on the need to quickly release the civilians who were captured during the attacks of October 7, 2023 and detained by the Palestinian factions.” The political office of Hamas.
The aim of these discussions in particular was to “clarify (Hamas's) position and policy on the issue” of the hostages, according to a press release issued by the Palestinian Islamic Movement published after the meeting.
“Methods for reaching a ceasefire” in the Gaza Strip were also discussed, according to Hamas, which claims to have received support from Russia “with regard to the rights of the Palestinian people.”
Mr. Bogdanov also met on Friday in Moscow with Israel's ambassador to Russia, Simona Halperin, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
The ambassador informed “of the purposeful efforts made by Russian diplomacy in favor of the immediate and unconditional release of civilians, including Russians, detained in the Gaza Strip.”
The Russian diplomat also noted Moscow's “steadfast principled position in support of a comprehensive settlement in the Middle East on the basis of the relevant resolutions issued by the United Nations and its Security Council,” according to the press release.
The war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas resulted in the deaths of 24,762 people, most of them women and children, according to the report published by the Hamas Ministry of Health on Friday.
These attacks erupted after bloody attacks carried out by Hamas commandos in southern Israel on October 7, which killed about 1,140 people, most of them civilians, according to a tally conducted by Agence France-Presse based on data from Israeli officials.
