MARRAKESH, December 20. /TASS/. Russia sees number one priority in the Gaza Strip in ending the bloodshed and solving humanitarian problems, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at the plenary session of the Russian-Arab Cooperation Forum.

"Our meeting is taking place amid an unprecedented aggravation of the situation in the Middle East and continuing turbulence in the world. The complicated and complex nature of emerging challenges and threats makes a collective approach to addressing the tasks of strengthening peace and security in the region and ensuring its sustainable development increasingly relevant," Lavrov said. "After the October 7 terrorist attack, which we categorically condemned, the situation in the oldest sore spot in this part of the world - in the zone of Palestinian-Israeli confrontation - has sharply aggravated. This time, the violence that we are witnesses to on a daily basis has taken on an unprecedented and truly catastrophic scale. Those killed and wounded number tens of thousands. Most of them are civilians in the Gaza Strip, primarily children and women," he added.

"The suffering of the enclave's population is aggravated by the consequences of the blockade imposed by Israel. We see our primary task in stopping the bloodshed and ensuring conditions for providing the necessary humanitarian assistance to all those in need," Lavrov said.

Russia's numerous attempts "together with like-minded supporters to persuade the UN Security Council to adopt a resolution demanding a lasting ceasefire meet with firm opposition from the United States, which takes a one-sided stance and, as usual, tries to usurp any processes and initiatives," he stated.