UN, January 24. /TASS/. Russia is providing considerable help to Gazans, having sent hundreds of tons of food and medications to the region, and it also supports the activities of the UN humanitarian agencies’ employees, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at an open debate of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) on the Middle East.
"In a move to relieve the suffering of Gazans, Russia, same as a number of other countries, has sent hundreds of tons of food, medical products, medications," he said. "We support the UN humanitarian agencies’ employees working at the spot," Lavrov added.
The situation in the Middle East escalated sharply on October 7 of last year after militants from the Gaza Strip-based radical Palestinian movement Hamas staged surprise incursions from Gaza into borderline Israeli communities, killing residents of Israeli kibbutzim and taking more than 240 people as hostages, including children, women and the elderly. The radicals described the attack as a response to the aggressive actions of the Israeli authorities against the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem’s Old City. Israel announced a complete blockade of Gaza and launched retaliatory strikes and a ground military operation against Hamas in the Palestinian enclave as well as strikes on parts of Lebanon and Syria. Clashes have also been reported in the West Bank.