MOSCOW, December 28. /TASS/. Russia has successfully rescued most of the Russian nationals who had been held as captives by the radical Palestinian Hamas movement, and this work will continue, Russian Foreign Ministry Crisis Management Center Director Yury Gorlach said at a briefing.

"There is another dimension on which we worked with our Israeli counterparts - the release of Russian hostages, people with Russian citizenship. We also worked very hard here. We managed to free most of them; we expect that this work will continue; it is very challenging," he said.

"As you understand, the situation in the region is not easy. <...> The safe withdrawal of our hostages is also a task that we have to resolve extremely carefully, in a balanced way. And we are working closely with both Israeli and Qatari authorities, who are assisting us as well," Gorlach pointed out.

Earlier, Israeli Ambassador to Moscow Alexander Ben Zvi reported that three Russian citizens were still being held by Hamas. He noted that a total of about 130 hostages remained in captivity.

Tensions flared up again in the Middle East on October 7 after militants of the Gaza Strip-based radical Palestinian movement 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 has declared a complete siege of the Gaza Strip and started a military operation there. Israel is also striking parts of Lebanon and Syria in retaliation for attacks originating from these countries. Clashes are also taking place in the West Bank.