Israel was hit by an unprecedented rocket attack from the Gaza Strip on October 7, with Hamas movement's troops infiltrating border areas. On October 8, the Israeli government announced that it had invoked Article 40 of the Basic Law, which means the country was officially in a state of war.

Lavrov Says Volume of Humanitarian Aid Being Delivered to Gaza Insufficient

13:15, 21 November 2023

Go to the mediabank

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – The Middle East has been in the spotlight of the world community in recent weeks due to the escalation of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. On October 27, Israel declared an expansion of its ground operation in the Gaza Strip to destroy Hamas and free Israeli captives taken by the Palestinian movement earlier in the month.

Sputnik

The current volume of the humanitarian aid that is being delivered to the Gaza Strip is insufficient, and the main priority at the moment is the release of hostages and solving humanitarian issues, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Tuesday.

"We are already witnessing the catastrophic humanitarian consequences in the Gaza Strip. The volume of the humanitarian aid being delivered is obviously insufficient," Lavrov said at a meeting with a contact group of seven Arab and Muslim countries on the situation around the Gaza Strip.

The main priority at the moment is the release of hostages and solving humanitarian issues, the minister said.

Israel-Palestine Escalation

US Likely Wants to Expand Middle East Conflict Beyond Gaza, Lavrov Says

15 November 2023, 18:46

It is necessary to create an external mechanism on the Israel-Palestine settlement, which should be representative and include regional states, Lavrov stressed.

"When we now think about creating an 'external overseeing' mechanism to agree on the terms of a long-term, sustainable settlement based on a two-state solution, we must think very seriously that such a mechanism is truly representative and fully takes into account the obvious fact that it is the regional countries that understand better than others how to achieve a solution that will last for many years and suit everyone forever," Lavrov said at a meeting with a contact group of seven Arab and Muslim countries on the situation around the Gaza Strip.

On October 7, the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas launched a surprise large-scale rocket attack on Israel from the Gaza Strip, breaching the border and killing and taking captives in nearby Israeli military sites and communities. The movement said its operation, Al-Aqsa Flood, was in response to Israeli provocations and occupation of Palestinian territories.

Israel launched retaliatory strikes and ordered a complete blockade of the Gaza Strip, home to more than 2 million people, cutting off supplies of water, food and fuel. On October 27, Israel launched a large-scale ground incursion into Gaza, ostensibly to eliminate Hamas fighters and rescue hostages.

The escalation of the conflict has resulted in the deaths of some 1,400 people in Israel and more than 13,300, including at least 5,600 children. Meanwhile, the number of injured in the Strip has exceeded 31,000, according to the Gaza Strip government's press office.