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Middle East conflict

External forces want to exploit Gaza conflict, start war in region — Lavrov

The top Russian diplomat noted that the purpose of such actions is "to weaken countries pursuing an independent foreign policy course"

© Ahmad Hasaballah/Getty Images

MARRAKESH, December 20. /TASS/. Some external players are planning to use the conflict in the Gaza Strip to ignite a major war in the Middle East, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said.

"It has become obvious that some external forces are not averse to using the next escalation of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict in their own interests - to ignite the fire of regional hostility in the development of numerous past adventures of the US and its allies, which have been unleashed in the Middle East over the past 20 years and the result of which is undermined statehood, hundreds of thousands of fatalities, huge flows of refugees, sharp escalation of socio-economic problems," the top Russian diplomat said at the plenary session of the Russian-Arab Cooperation Forum.

Lavrov added that the purpose of such actions is "to weaken countries pursuing an independent foreign policy course."

Tensions flared up again in the Middle East on October 7 when militants from the Gaza Strip-based radical Palestinian movement Hamas staged a surprise attack on Israeli territory from Gaza, killing residents of Israeli border settlements and taking over 200 hostages, including women, children 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. In response, Israel declared a total blockade of the Gaza Strip, home to 2.3 million Palestinians, 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.

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