MOSCOW, November 1. /TASS/. Russia is making active efforts toward resolving the situation surrounding Russian nationals held hostage by Hamas, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.
"Security is [issue] number one. Therefore, there can be no details [disclosed] or any discourse [conducted] on this matter, either artistically inspired flights of fancy or more grounded expert opinions, until the moment of their release; [there can] exclusively only be information that might serve to facilitate their release or alleviate their fate," the diplomat said. "This is the alpha and omega of the approach that has taken shape both here in our country and within the international community <...>. The second point is the lack of quantitative indicators, names, personal data and so on. This is an issue that pertains directly to their security," she emphasized.
"The third point: We are actively trying to resolve this situation," Zakharova noted. "Yes, these are people who live permanently in Israel. We are talking about the fact that, according to our data, there are no people who would have come [just] to visit the country either among the victims or among the hostages. There are only those who live permanently on the territory of Israel. But there are people there who have a second [citizenship], they called it a second [citizenship], for us it is [simply] Russian citizenship. We do not count in this case; we do not use an ordinal number, we [simply] have the understanding that, for us, they are Russian citizens," she said.
The diplomat pointed out that Russia continues to maintain contacts on this issue. "You are aware of the contacts both on the bilateral level and with those forces that have a direct influence over the situation. We are doing everything [we can] to help resolve the hostage situation," Zakharova stressed. "We are in contact with all parties on this issue, with those with whom it is possible and necessary to do business. All of this [activity] has one goal: to defuse the situation and safely resolve the hostage crisis," she emphasized.
Tensions flared up again in the Middle East on October 7 when militants from the radical Palestinian group Hamas staged a surprise attack on Israeli territory from the Gaza Strip, killing residents of Israeli border settlements and taking more than 200 hostages, including children, women and the elderly. Hamas 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 has announced a total blockade of the Gaza Strip and has been delivering air strikes on Gaza as well as some parts of Lebanon and Syria. Clashes are also underway in the West Bank.