UNITED NATIONS, October 24. /TASS/. Russia’s new UN Security Council draft resolution on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict calls for an immediate release of all hostages, according to the document available to TASS.
The document "calls for the immediate and unconditional release of all civilian hostages, demanding for their safety, well-being, and humane treatment in compliance with international law."
UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Tor Wennesland said earlier that at least 220 people are being kept hostage in the Gaza Strip. According to Hamas, twenty-two hostages have died as a result of Israel’s airstrikes.
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.