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Israeli-Palestinian conflict

Russia condemns indiscriminate attacks on civilian targets in Gaza — diplomat

The Jerusalem Orthodox Patriarchate condemned "the Israeli airstrike that have struck its church compound in the city of Gaza"

MOSCOW, October 20. /TASS/. Russia categorically condemns indiscriminate attacks on civilian objects in the Gaza Strip, Alexey Zaitsev, Deputy Director of the Russian Foreign Ministry's Information and Press Department, said.

The diplomat was asked to comment on the shelling of the Greek Orthodox Church of Saint Porphyrios in the Gaza Strip. "We categorically reject the indiscriminate use of force, we categorically do not accept attacks on civilian objects from any side," he said at a briefing.

The Jerusalem Orthodox Patriarchate condemned "the Israeli airstrike that have struck its church compound in the city of Gaza." The Patriarchate called such strikes "a war crime." The Palestinian Foreign Ministry said on its page on the social network X (formerly known as Twitter) that two people, including a child, were killed in the shelling of a Greek Orthodox church in the Gaza Strip. According to the agency, dozens of people received injuries of different severities.

The church of Saint Porphyrios is the oldest Christian parish in Gaza. It is the third oldest Christian church in the world, according to the Palestinian agency WAFA. The church was built in 452 and rebuilt in the second half of the 19th century.

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Foreign policy Israeli-Palestinian conflict

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