UNITED NATIONS, December 8. /TASS/. What Hamas did on October 7 does not justify the crimes against humanity that were committed by Israel in the Gaza Strip, said Dmitry Polyansky, Russia’s first deputy envoy to the UN.

"We would like to emphasize that references by Israel and its allies to the actions of Hamas on October 7, which we certainly condemn, do not and in principle cannot justify the massive and systematic war crimes and crimes against humanity that are being committed in the Gaza Strip," he said at a UN Security Council meeting dedicated to the Middle East.

Polyansky said Article 51 of the First Additional Protocol to the Geneva Conventions explicitly prohibits "attacks on the civilian population or on individual civilians by way of reprisals."

"At the same time, it is hardly worth expecting that a proper assessment of what is happening will be given by Western countries or corrupt institutions under their control, such as the International Criminal Court. It will never go against its masters and their allies, as it is designed to serve their political interests. After all, neither the US, nor the UK, nor other Westerners have been held accountable for their war crimes in Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya," the diplomat said.

Earlier, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres also said that brutality cannot be sufficient grounds for collective punishment of the Palestinians. According to the official, the international community should do its best.

The situation in the Middle East sharply escalated following an incursion of Hamas militants from the Gaza Strip into Israel on October 7. Hamas has cast the attack as a response to Israeli actions against the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. Israel has declared a complete siege of the Gaza Strip and started a military operation there. Israel also strikes parts of Lebanon and Syria in retaliation for bombardments originating from these countries. Clashes are also taking place in the West Bank.