MOSCOW, November 28. /TASS/. Russian Special Presidential Envoy for the Middle East and Africa, Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov discussed with Iran's Ambassador to Moscow Kazem Jalali the situation in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict zone and the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip.

"On November 28, Russian Special Presidential Envoy for the Middle East and Africa, Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov, received Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran to Moscow Kazem Jalali at his request. During the conversation there was an extensive exchange of views on the current situation in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict zone. The humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip was given special attention," the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on its website.

The sides also touched upon a number of other topical issues on the Middle East agenda.

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.

The Hamas movement announced on November 22 that an agreement on a four-day humanitarian ceasefire in the Gaza Strip had been reached through the mediation of Qatar and Egypt. The agreement stipulates the release of 50 women and children under the age of 19 who are held in Gaza in exchange for the release of 150 women and children under the age of 19 from Israeli prisons. The Gaza ceasefire took effect at 5:00 a.m. GMT (7:00 a.m. local time) on November 24, when the first group of hostages was released.