MOSCOW, November 15. /TASS/. Russia has sent to date over 140 tons of humanitarian cargoes for Gaza civilians, Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told a briefing.

"For our part, we continue to actively participate in humanitarian efforts to ease the suffering of the civilian population. On November 10, emergencies ministry’s planes airlifted from Kazan to Egypt batches of food and medicines for the residents of the Gaza Strip," the diplomat said.

"In total, more than 140 tons of humanitarian goods have already been sent from Russia, which were handed over to officers of the Egyptian Red Crescent Society to be distributed among the needy residents of the blockaded Palestinian enclave," Zakharova pointed out.

At the same time, Zakharova noted that the scale of the humanitarian disaster is expanding under Israel's tight blockade of Gaza. "The Gaza Strip is still facing an acute shortage of food, medicines and fuel. Due to the ongoing hostilities, the only open for the entry of humanitarian cargo Rafah crossing on the border with Egypt is still operating with significant restrictions. The humanitarian aid entering through it is not enough to cover the existing needs," Zakharova said.

Tensions flared up again in the Middle East on October 7 after militants from the Gaza Strip-based radical Palestinian group Hamas launched a surprise incursion on Israeli territory, killing many Israeli kibbutz residents living near the Gaza border and abducting more than 200 Israelis, including women, children and the elderly. Hamas described its attack as a response to Israeli authorities’ aggressive actions against the Al-Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem’s Old City. Israel declared a total blockade of the Gaza Strip and launched bombardments of the enclave and some areas in Lebanon and Syria, as well as a ground operation against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Clashes are also reported in the West Bank.