MOSCOW, October 11. /TASS/ Russia urges the United States "not to fish in troubled waters" in connection with the escalation of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov has told the media.

"Certainly, we are mourning for the victims of this conflict. We believe that the situation is extremely difficult, and we call on Washington not to try to fish in troubled waters, which it is in the habit of doing in any situation," Ryabkov said.

He stressed that the potential for further destabilization amid the escalating conflict was "enormous."

"We condemn the US policies in the Middle East, which in many ways have become the primary source of the current outbreak of armed confrontation," he added.

Ryabkov recalled that Moscow had not requested information from Washington about the latest visits of US representatives to the Middle East.

"We have enough sources of our own we use instead of asking the Americans for information about what and how was discussed there. We are well up on the situation and know the priorities on which to act," Ryabkov said.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Israel on Thursday and then traveled to Jordan, where he met with President Mahmoud Abbas, of the State of Palestine. Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin arrived in Israel on Friday.

Tensions flared up again in the Middle East on October 7 when Palestinian militants from the Hamas movement attacked Israeli territory from the Gaza Strip. Hamas described its attack as a response to the aggressive actions of Israeli authorities against the Al-Aqsa Mosque on Jerusalem's Temple Mount. Israel has announced a total blockade of Gaza and carried out strikes on targets inside Lebanon and Syria. Hostilities have also broken out on the West Bank.

More than 1,500 Palestinians have been killed in clashes and strikes, while over 7,200 have suffered wounds since the renewed outbreak of violence began. In Israel, more than 1,500 people have lost their lives and over 4,000 have been wounded.