MOSCOW, October 28. /TASS/. Israel launched a ground operation in the Gaza Strip in the latest escalation with Palestine on Saturday, the Russian Foreign Ministry claimed.

"On October 28, Israel started a ground military operation in the Gaza Strip," the Russian diplomatic agency said in a statement as it described the move as yet another stage in the escalation between Palestine and Israel.

The ministry said it was contributing to efforts toward resolving the conflict peacefully as it cautioned foreign players against fueling another major war in the Middle East.

Tensions in the Middle East flared up again on October 7 when Hamas militants launched a surprise incursion into Israeli territory from the Gaza Strip. The Palestinian movement described its attack as a response to the aggressive actions of Israeli authorities against the Al-Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem’s Old City. Israel declared a total siege of Gaza and started carrying out strikes on the Palestinian enclave, as well as on certain areas in Lebanon and Syria. Clashes are also taking place in the West Bank.