MOSCOW, March 22. /TASS/. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Vershinin and Israeli ambassador to Moscow Simona Halperin at their meeting discussed the situation in the Gaza Strip, the Russian Foreign Ministry reported.

"The sides discussed in detail the current situation in the zone of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, first of all - in the Gaza Strip, taking into account the consideration of this issue in the UN Security Council and at the UN General Assembly," the ministry said in a statement after the meeting, held on March 21 at the request of the Israeli ambassador.

The Russian diplomats pointed out that the parties also exchanged views "in connection with the mission of UN Secretary General's Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict Pramila Patten to the region, the publication of the relevant report on the results of the mission and the holding of a special session of the UN Security Council."

Earlier, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in an interview with the Al Hadath TV channel that Washington had submitted a draft resolution to the UN Security Council calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and the release of Israeli hostages. According to Blinken, the new document is intended to send a "strong signal." The top US diplomat pointed out that the US supports Israel's right to self-defense, but is currently focused on protecting the civilian population of the Gaza Strip, which is "in danger and suffering so terribly."

Russia's First Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN Dmitry Polyansky, commenting on the draft Middle East resolution submitted by the United States, opined that Washington still does not want a real ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and is doing everything not to prevent Israel from "dealing with the Palestinians."

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.