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Russia concerned over Israel’s strikes against Gaza Strip — diplomat

The previous massive exchange of strikes between Israel and Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip occurred on May 29

SAMARA, June 20. /TASS/. Moscow is concerned over the Israeli strikes against the Gaza Strip and calls on all parties to hold a large-scale dialogue, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told reporters on Wednesday.

"The situation in the region remains challenging and explosive. Lately, tensions have been mounting around the Gaza Strip," the diplomat said. According to reports, since June 17 the Israeli Air Force has carried out strikes on the infrastructure facilities of Hamas's armed wing in the Gaza Strip in retaliation to rocket attacks.

"Moscow is concerned over the new wave of violence and calls for reducing confrontation and against further escalation of the situation in the region," Zakharova stressed. "We urge all sides to show restraint and refrain from steps which may entail a full-fledged military standoff."

According to Zakharova, such incidents signal the need to "immediately resume negotiations between all conflicting sides to find a long-term and fair solution that would meet the interests of both Palestinians and Israelis."

The previous massive exchange of strikes between Israel and Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip occurred on May 29. The Palestinian radicals fired more than 100 missiles against the Jewish state in one day, and the Israeli army hit 40 Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said this was the strongest attack on the Palestinian enclave over the past years against terrorist groups, which are responsible for the conflict’s escalation.