MOSCOW, October 20. /TASS/. There have been no direct contacts between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Joe Biden on the Middle East, but a dialogue at the level of the Security Council is underway, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

"No. There are contacts underway, of course, at the level of the Security Council. But there have been no purely bilateral ones," he said, answering a question.

The situation in the Middle East has escalated abruptly after an armed infiltration of HAMAS militant from the Gaza Strip into Israel. The HAMAS movement considers this attack a response to the actions of Israeli authorities towards the Al Aqsa Mosque at the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. Israel announced a complete blockade of the Gaza Strip and started carrying out strikes at the enclave and at certain areas of Lebanon and Syria. Clashes also take place in the West Bank.

According to the recent reports, over 3,400 Palestinians were killed and over 12,000 got injured, with up to 1,500 killed and over 4,200 injured on the Israeli side.