MOSCOW, February 13. /TASS/. Russia does not see any immediate prospects for reaching a settlement on the situation in the Gaza Strip given Israel’s position, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said, speaking at the 13th Middle East Conference of the Valdai Discussion Club.

"Given the hardline stance of the Israeli leadership toward continuing their military actions in Gaza, and now already expanding them to Rafah, we do not see any prospects for a speedy stabilization of the situation in the sector," he said. "Nevertheless, it is necessary to provide conditions for a reliable sustainable settlement while seeking a ceasefire," he added.

Lavrov said that Russia drew attention at the UN Security Council meeting on the Palestinian issue to its long-standing initiative to hold consultations with the region’s countries to "harmonize their approaches in support of the creation of a Palestinian state."

"Following this, we propose an inter-Palestinian meeting with the participation of all leading Palestinian factions to bridge the internal divide," the minister added.

On February 7, Jewish Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the military had received orders to prepare for the start of fighting in Rafah on the Gaza Strip’s border with Egypt. Two days later, he instructed the army to draft a plan to evacuate civilians and eliminate the four remaining Hamas battalions in the city.

On February 12, Arab media reported massive Israeli military strikes on Rafah. According to the Al Mayadeen TV channel, 100 people died in the bombardment and more than 230 were wounded.

Tensions flared up in the Middle East after Hamas militants from the Gaza Strip attacked Israeli territory on October 7, when many Israelis living in the settlements near the border were killed and more than 200 people, including children, women and the elderly, were taken hostage. Hamas views its attack as a response to Israeli authorities’ steps against the Al-Aqsa Mosque on Jerusalem’s Temple Mount. Israel declared a total blockade of the Gaza Strip and launched bombardments of the enclave and some areas in Lebanon and Syria.

On December 1, the Israeli army accused Hamas of violating the truce that had been in effect since November 24 and announced that it would resume fighting in the Gaza Strip. The Palestinian authorities held the United States responsible for the renewed Israeli aggression.