MOSCOW, October 24. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke by phone with Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan and they discussed the escalation of the conflict between Palestine and Israel, the Kremlin said in a statement.

"In their latest phone call Russian President Vladimir Putin and President of the Republic of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan continued discussion of the severe crisis situation in the Middle East," the statement said.

It also said the presidents "expressed deep concern about the rising number of civilian casualties and the catastrophic deterioration of the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip, and underscored that strikes on residential neighborhoods, religious and social facilities are unacceptable."

The Kremlin also said that during the phone call Putin and Erdogan reviewed Russia’s intense efforts at the UN Security Council and Turkey's political and diplomatic steps that are aimed at ending the bloodshed and ensuring an unimpeded delivery of humanitarian aid to those in need.

The situation in the Middle East sharply escalated following an incursion of Hamas militants from the Gaza Strip into Israel on October 7. Hamas regards the attack as a response to Israeli actions against the Al-Aqsa Mosque on Jerusalem's Temple Mount. Israel has declared a complete siege of the Gaza Strip and has started delivering strikes on that area and parts of Lebanon and Syria. Clashes are also taking place in the West Bank.