Senior Russian diplomat meets Hamas representative in Moscow

MOSCOW

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov met with member of Hamas political bureau Moussa Abu Marzouk in the capital Moscow, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Friday.

"The main focus of the conversation was the ongoing confrontation in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict zone, which led to the humanitarian crisis of the catastrophic scale in the Gaza Strip," a ministry statement said.

The Russian side emphasized the need for the early release of civilians captured during Hamas’ attack on Oct. 7, 2023, including three Russian citizens, the statement said.

Israel has launched relentless air and ground attacks on the Gaza Strip since a cross-border attack by Hamas which Tel Aviv says killed 1,200 people.

At least 24,762 Palestinians have since been killed, mostly women and children, and 62,108 injured, according to Palestinian health authorities.

The Israeli offensive has left 85% of Gaza’s population internally displaced amid acute shortages of food, clean water and medicine, while 60% of the enclave’s infrastructure was damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.