BEIRUT, January 19. /TASS/. A delegation of the Palestinian Hamas movement led by the head of the international relations bureau Musa Abu Marzouk has met in Moscow with Russian presidential envoy for the Middle East and African countries, Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov, according to the movement’s statement posted in its Telegram channel.

"Ways of achieving a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip in order to stop the aggression against the Palestinian people were discussed," the post reads. "Hamas explained its stance regarding the prisoners held by the resistance units."

The statement notes that "the Hamas delegation appreciates Russia's diplomatic efforts, as well as official and popular humanitarian aid provided to the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip."

The Hamas delegation emphasized that "the criminal actions of the authorities of occupation against the Palestinians constitute a serious threat to international peace and security." The movement’s representatives "reaffirmed the right of the Palestinian people to freedom and return to their homes, as well as resistance to the illegal occupation by all available means," the statement reads.

Tensions flared up again in the Middle East on October 7 after militants from the Gaza Strip-based radical Palestinian group 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 declared a total blockade of the Gaza Strip and launched bombardments of the enclave and some areas in Lebanon and Syria, as well as a ground operation against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Clashes are also reported in the West Bank.