MOSCOW, January 15. /TASS/. No progress has been made in ongoing efforts to secure the release of the remaining hostages still being held by militants of the radical Palestinian group Hamas amid the ongoing hostilities in the Gaza Strip, Russian Ambassador to Israel Anatoly Viktorov said.

"There are no new developments in this direction, but this is not merely a direction [of diplomatic activity], it is the fate and lives of people. We must work [on their release], and do so immediately," the diplomat said during a Rossiya-24 TV broadcast. "It is necessary to make all possible concessions and political agreements in order to free people," he emphasized.

According to the ambassador, several other Russian nationals are being held in Gaza. "We think about them, we keep the tightest monitoring and control over this issue in our contacts with those on whom their fate depends," Viktorov stressed.

He also noted that Russia's active participation in these efforts is perceived with gratitude by the citizens of Israel, and that the Russian side has received many requests to facilitate the release of hostages.

Tensions flared up again in the Middle East on October 7, 2023, 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 240 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 before the crisis, and has been delivering air strikes on Gaza as well as some parts of Lebanon and Syria. Clashes have also been reported on the West Bank.