TEL AVIV, January 23. /TASS/. Russia will continue to make concerted efforts to release all the people abducted by radicals in the Gaza Strip, the Russian mission quoted Ambassador to Israel Anatoly Viktorov as saying in a statement.

Earlier on Tuesday, the Russian diplomat met with the two Russian nationals, Irina Tatti and Yelena Trufanova, who were freed from the Palestinian enclave in November with active assistance from Russia.

"Viktorov emphasized that Russia will continue to work toward releasing all Israelis held hostage in the Gaza Strip, including Russian nationals, and will keep making concerted efforts toward this goal," the statement reads. According to the Russian embassy, the two ladies expressed their gratitude to Russian officials and diplomats for their consistent work and asked for more assistance in returning their relative, Alexander Trufanov, from Gaza.

The Middle East situation dramatically escalated after Palestinian radical Hamas militants entered Israeli territory from the Gaza Strip on October 7, 2023, killing border residents and taking more than 240 hostages, including children, women and the elderly. The radical movement labeled the attack a retaliation to the Israeli authorities' actions against the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem.

Israel announced a total siege of Gaza and started striking the Strip and certain areas in Lebanon and Syria before launching a ground operation in the enclave.