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Russian ambassador to Israel confirms death of Russian citizen in Hamas attack

He pointed out that at the moment the Russian side is establishing all the circumstances of the incident and is trying to contact the relatives of the deceased man in order to assist them, if necessary

MOSCOW, October 10. /TASS/. Information about the death of a Russian citizen in a shelling during the Palestinian-Israeli conflict has been confirmed, Russian Ambassador to Israel Anatoly Viktorov said on Channel One.

"It is with great condolences that I make public for the first time the information that, unfortunately, the death of a Russian citizen has been confirmed. The young man was most likely a permanent resident here, he had both Russian and Israeli citizenship. For us, he is first and foremost a Russian citizen," the diplomat said.

He pointed out that at the moment the Russian side is establishing all the circumstances of the incident and is trying to contact the relatives of the deceased man in order to assist them, if necessary.

"In addition, we have nine appeals from the relatives of those of our citizens with whom [these] relatives cannot establish contact," Viktorov pointed out. "Unfortunately, I can confirm that four of these nine Russian citizens are on Israeli lists of missing persons. We are working with the Israeli authorities to determine their whereabouts and to establish contact with their relatives," the ambassador said.

Israel came under missile attack from the Gaza Strip on the morning of October 7. Simultaneously, several groups of Palestinian militants from the Hamas movement infiltrated the Jewish state, engaging in fighting with Israeli forces. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) declared a state of readiness for war and launched retaliatory actions dubbed Operation Iron Swords. Hamas Politburo Head Ismail Haniyeh described the Palestinian operation as a response to aggressive actions by the Israeli authorities against the Al-Aqsa Mosque in the Old City of Jerusalem. Israel has announced a shift to a state of war and a complete blockade of the Gaza Strip. According to the latest figures, the clashes and shelling have left nearly 700 Palestinians dead and about 4,000 wounded, and nearly 800 Israelis dead and more than 2,700 wounded.