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Middle East conflict

Palestinian authorities call on Hamas to release hostages — ambassador to Russia

The most important thing now is to stop the war and give people an opportunity to live normally, to release civilians who were taken hostage by Hamas and Israel, Abdel Hafiz Nofal said

MOSCOW, October 16. /TASS/. Palestine’s authorities have called on Hamas to release hostages, Palestinian Ambassador to Russia Abdel Hafiz Nofal told TASS.

"[Palestinian President] Mahmoud Abbas has already released a statement calling for halting hostilities so that assistance, water and electricity can come in and Hamas can release the civilians they took [hostage], and Israel can do the same. I think that Qatar, the Egyptians, and the Palestinian authorities, as well as the US authorities, all of them are working to make this happen," he said. "The most important thing now is to stop the war and give people an opportunity to live normally, to release civilians who were taken hostage by Hamas and Israel."

According to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), Hamas militants took at least 199 Israeli nationals hostage. Many of them are citizens of other countries.

Tensions flared up in the Middle East after Hamas militants from the Gaza Strip attacked Israeli territory. Hamas views its attack as a response to Israeli authorities’ steps against the Al-Aqsa Mosque on Jerusalem’s Temple Mount. Israel declared a total blockade of the Gaza Strip and launched bombardments of the enclave and some areas in Lebanon and Syria. Clashes are also reported in the West Bank. More than 2,800 Palestinians have been killed and around 10,900 others injured. In Israel, at least 1,500 people have lost their lives and almost 4,000 have been wounded.

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Foreign policy Israel

IAEA should speak openly about sources of threats to Kursk NPP — Russian mission

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Russian banks’ profits up by 42% in August month-on-month to $4.6 bln — Central Bank

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Russia offers safe haven for people trying to escape Western liberal ideals

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Ukraine's accusations against Russia over Crimean Bridge go beyond UN convention — MFA

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Cosmonauts, astronaut move from ISS to Soyuz MS-25, close hatches

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CERN's turn away from Russian scientists has positive aspects — Kurchatov Center chief

This is quite obviously a positive development for us in some respects, Kovalchuk said

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The Turkish President said he would address the UNGA to ask the participants to remember "the need for taking action against genocide in the Gaza Strip and Israel's aggressive policies"

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Anatoly Viktorov urged all the sides to "immediately cease fire, show maximum restraint, and move to a political and diplomatic settlement of the situation"

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Overnight, the Russian Armed Forces launched a group strike on energy facilities that supply electricity to Ukrainian defense plants and drone production cites as well as Ukrainian troops

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The German Chancellor emphasized that there were "good reasons for that"

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Ukrainian command deploys foreign fighters in some areas of Kursk Region — commander

Apty Alaudinov pointed out that the foreigners are carrying out, among other things, raids

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"The opponents in Washington, London, and other places clearly underestimate the degree of danger of the game they continue to play," Deputy Foreign Minister of Russia Sergey Ryabkov said

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Dmitry Peskov noted that this would require great efforts in the future and be a matter of special concern for the Kremlin in order to ensure Russia's legitimate security interests

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Peskov was commenting on NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg's recent statement that there is no need to be afraid of using Western weapons for strikes deep inside Russia

IDF continues to attack Hezbollah targets — prime minister’s office

According to Dmitry Gendelman, "long-range cruise missiles, launchers with thousands of rockets and drones" of the Hezbollah movement are being targeted

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Tensions flare up in North Caucasus since start of special military op — commander

Lieutenant General Vladimir Makeyev also mentioned the emergence of self-radicalized citizens, usually living abroad

Hungarian PM proposes return to cooperation ‘from Lisbon to Vladivostok’

The UN has an important role to play in this direction, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said

Israeli military says it attacked 1,300 Hezbollah targets across Lebanon

As part of the strikes, attacks targeted cruise missiles with a range of hundreds of kilometers

Lebanon fires rockets at Israel — TV

According to Al Jazeera, the rockets are being fired in the direction of the Upper and Lower Galilee

Macron calls for reviewing ties with Russia

The French president also called for bigger presence of "densely populated countries, which did not exist when the current world order was only forming" in international organizations

Three Hezbollah religious leaders killed in Israeli strikes on Lebanon — TV

According to the broadcast, Abdul Moneim Mahna, Ali Aburia and Amin Saad died during the shelling attacks

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At the same time, Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova explained that Russian representatives "have not participated in any meetings within the framework of the ‘Buergenstock process’ and are not going to participate in any

Ukraine's accusation against Russia over violations in Kerch Strait has no grounds — MFA

Ukraine initiated a dispute on this matter on September 16, 2016

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Along with Russia, Belarus and Nicaragua, delegations from North Korea, Syria, Sudan, and Iran voted against

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Total of 492 civilians killed in Israeli attacks on Lebanon — news agency

Another 1,645 people were injured

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The newspaper noted that the decision on strikes deep into Russian territory is unlikely to change turn the tide of the conflict, because Russia has withdrawn its planes and missile systems from the range of Western-made weapons, used in the Ukrainian conflict

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Movement used two types of rockets: Fadi-1, with a range of 80 km, and Fadi-2, with a range of 105 km

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The undocking has been scheduled for 11:37 Moscow time, the spacecraft is expected to land at about 15:00 Moscow time

Hezbollah militants launch 9,000 rockets, drones at Israel since October 8 — army

Israel Defense Forces Spokesman Daniel Hagari added that Hezbollah has been planning to do in northern Israel what the Palestinian movement Hamas did in southern Israel on October 7 last year

Lawmakers urge Czech cabinet to demand Russian compensation for ammo depot blast

Meanwhile, the Czech Republic has initiated another session of the North Atlantic Council

Russia says its Iskander missile destroys US-made HIMARS in Sumy Region

The crew of an Iskander tactical missile system of the Russian Armed Forces carried out a missile strike on the position of an M142 HIMARS of Ukrainian forces in the settlement of Shaposhnikovo

Hezbollah launches rocket attack on military airfield, airbase in northern Israel

The Islamic Resistance attacked the Megiddo military airfield, west of the city of Afula with Fadi-1 and Fadi-2

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In addition, artillery fire and heavy flamethrower systems hit strongholds and places of accumulation of manpower and equipment of the Ukrainian 72nd mechanized and 58th motorized infantry brigades

Russian expert sees Zelensky's trip to Pennsylvania as crude pressure on US voters

Vladimir Zharikhin noted that Zelensky was making this trip on instructions from Washington

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The ceremony was held at Serbia's permanent mission to the UN in New York

Iran's president ready to discuss conflict in Ukraine with Europe, US — AFP

Massoud Pezeshkian said his country had never approved of what he described as aggression against Ukraine

Crew of Russia’s Soyuz MS-25 leaves landing module

The module has made a vertical landing

Ukrainian troops shell school with 106 children inside in Zaporozhye Region

There have been no casualties

Israel attacks 1,600 Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon, Bekaa Valley over day

The IDF continues to strike Hezbollah terrorist targets in Lebanon as part of Operation Northern Arrows

Unilateral sanctions hinder sustainable development goals, says Iranian president

The Iranian president called on "the UN chief, in cooperation with the countries affected by unilateral sanctions"

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Supercam S350 is a light drone with video signal range of over 70 km

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Turkish economist Bartu Soral noted that when looking at "the global distribution of power, it is clear that huge changes have occurred since the early 2000s"

Russian stock indices in the green as trading closes on Monday

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According to the TV channel, Karaki, who was at the headquarters during the air strike, sustained wounds but was not killed

Ukrainian forces carry out rotation in Kursk area — Russian commander

Russian, Lao servicemen hold first joint exercise in Russia’s Far East — top brass

The Russian Defense Ministry pointed out that the first stage of the drills will begin on September 25

Russian forces hit Patriot SAM launcher, missile reload trailer transporter

Russian forces have liberated Pobeda and took more advantageous positions in the Donetsk area

Iran has no intention to develop nuclear weapons, ready to return to JCPOA – president

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian stressed that there is no place for nuclear weapons in Iran’s military doctrine

IRGC says exposed network of 12 Israeli agents in 6 Iranian provinces

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has blamed Israel for seeking to spread the conflict onto Iran’s territory and destabilize the situation inside the country

Trump slams Zelensky ‘greatest salesman in history’

The politician added that Zelensky "wants them the Democrats to win this presidential election" because he receives financial aid from them

Researchers from Siberia’s Tomsk who partnered with CERN start working at home

All eight researchers from the university who took part in mega science research have already returned to Russia

Hungarian minister says UN should reinstate itself as platform for discussing peace

The UN was created as a platform where everyone can talk to everyone about everything, Peter Szijjarto said

Russia's newest satellites to change course of Ukrainian conflict — former UN inspector

According to Ritter this conflict would become "unsustainable for the Ukrainian sometime by the end of summer, early fall"

Netanyahu warns Israelis of ‘difficult days’ ahead amid strikes on Lebanon

"What I am asking of you, the citizens of Israel, is two things: First, to follow the instructions of the Homefront Command, as that saves lives. Second, to be steadfast, responsible and determined," the Israeli PM stated

Advanced Sarmat ICBM systems go on combat alert in Russia — Roscosmos head

The RS-28 Sarmat missile to replace the R-36M2 Voyevoda ICBM operational in the Russian Strategic Missile Force since 1988

Israel destroyed ‘tens of thousands’ Hezbollah munitions over past day, minister says

Yoav Gallant noted that the past seven days were "the most difficult week for Hezbollah since the group’s founding"

Russia to create counter-balance to US missiles in Asia — MFA

Ryabkov emphasized that Russia "cannot expect good and positive things from the United States"

Opportunities in coupling of Belt and Road Initiative, EAEU outweigh challenges — expert

"It should be noted that the trend of expanding cooperation between China and Russia at the level of regions is uncontainable," Senior Researcher at the Chinese Taihe Institute Ding Jianwei noted

IDF carries out massive strikes at Hezbollah targets in Lebanon

"The details will be published later," the press office said

Moscow reiterates will not test nukes if Washington refrains

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov drew attention "to recent media reports saying that the infrastructure on Novaya Zemlya is fully ready"

Zelensky may be overthrown if Ukraine fails to hold elections — Ukrainian MP

Ukraine is still facing the question of the legitimacy of power in the absence of parliamentary and presidential elections, which cannot be held during martial law

IAEA should speak openly about sources of threats to Kursk NPP — Russian mission

Russia is working on the issue of the Zaporozhye and Kursk nuclear power plants with the agency's leadership and its Director General Rafael Grossi, Russia's deputy permanent envoy to international organizations in Vienna Roman Ustinov said

Poland accuses Russia of 'disinformation campaign' amid large-scale flooding

According to the police, 7 people died and over 6,000 people have been evacuated from the flooded area

Turkish parliamentary speaker hopes to meet with Putin on Wednesday

Numan Kurtulmus intends to convey greetings from Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan to the Russian President

FACTBOX: Breakthrough attempts repulsed: situation in Kursk Region

The Russian military repelled two enemy attempts to break through the border towards Novy Put

Israeli army detects launch of 20 rockets from Lebanon, some intercepted

According to the document, Lebanon fired approximately five projectiles at Israel after sirens were sounded in the northern regions of Israel

US billionaire sees Zelensky’s 'victory plan' leading to third world war

David Sacks said hopefully Joe Biden can remember why he has rejected the points of the Ukrainian president’s plan

Top EU diplomat says escalation in Lebanon ‘extremely dangerous’

Josep Borrell also pointed to the growing intensity of attacks and the growing number of victims

Iranian president vows assassination of Haniyeh won’t go unanswered

The assassination of Haniyeh runs counter to all norms of international law and will definitely not go unanswered

Telegram may hand over user data of rule violators to authorities

The Telegram team has removed all problematic content from there in recent weeks, Pavel Durov said, without giving any details

Russian Baltic Fleet's patrol ship ends visit to Dar es Salaam

The ship's crew replenished water, fuel and food supplies and conducted technical examination of the ship

IDF launches ‘proactive offensive operation’ against Hezbollah — General Staff

According to Chief of Israel’s General Staff Herzi Halevi, the IDF is targeting combat infrastructure that Hezbollah has been building for the past 20 years

Potential catastrophe at Kursk NPP to affect entire Europe — Russian officer

He said that he doesn’t understand "why Europe as yielded to America’s globalist interests and is doing everything it can to let America stage a catastrophe that would affect not only Russia and Ukraine, but also entire Europe."

All restrictions on entry to Tikhoretsk lifted after Ukrainian attack

Two drones were downed on Saturday by Russian servicemen in the Tikhoretsky district of the Krasnodar Region, where the falling debris resulted in a fire, followed by the detonation of explosive items

Russia says battlegroup West struck 4 Ukrainian brigades

Enemy lost up to 420 troops

Russia opposes fast-tracking of nuclear disarmament — deputy foreign minister

The global digital treaty also contains a serious flaw, Deputy Foreign Minister said

US coalition aircraft violates Syrian airspace 13 times in past 24 hours

In addition, the coalition violated the provisions of the December 9, 2019 deconfliction

Press review: US shifts rhetoric on Ukraine and walkie-talkie explosions rock Lebanon

Top stories from the Russian press on Thursday, September 19th

Ukrainian howitzer Bogdana destroyed by Lancet munition in Sumy Region

Objective monitoring of the strike on the Ukrainian artillery piece was carried by air reconnaissance means in the real time mode

PREVIEW: UN General Assembly's high-level week kicks off in New York City

In the coming week, representatives of 193 UN member states, the Vatican and Palestine, which have observer status in the world body, as well as the European Union will take turns at the General Assembly podium

Ukrainian decoy drone meant for hacking air defenses seized in Kursk Region

Such drones are made of cheap components and carry no quality cameras or other additional radio transmitting devices

Pentagon deploying additional US forces to Middle East

The Lebanese Health Ministry earlier said that the death toll from Israeli strikes on residential areas in South Lebanon had climbed to 325

Russia considers Ukraine's accusations of obstructing navigation groundless — diplomat

The convention, Gennady Kuzmin noted, does not regulate inland waters, except in extremely limited circumstances

Kiev moves reserves to Kharkov Region as Russian army pushes towards Kupyansk — official

Vitaly Ganchev specified that over the past two weeks, Russian troops had achieved certain success the Kharkov Region

Press review: Prognosing upcoming Zelensky-Biden meetup and Hezbollah ups ante with Israel

Top stories from the Russian press on Monday, September 23rd