MOSCOW, June 8. /TASS/. Moscow shares the joy felt by the relatives of the hostages that were rescued from Gaza, Russian Ambassador to Israel Anatoly Viktorov said on Rossiya-24 television.

"We share the joy felt by the relatives and friends of all these freed hostages, and especially, of course, Andrey Kozlov, who was among the four Israelis rescued today," he said.

Viktorov noted that Kozlov also has a Russian passport. The Russian Embassy was in touch with his relatives during the eight months that Kozlov was held hostage, he said. The Russian ambassador wished Kozlov a speedy recovery and return to a full life.

The Israel Defense Forces said earlier on Saturday that it rescued four Israeli hostages that had been held by Palestinian radicals in Gaza since October 7, 2023.

The operation to free the hostages took place near a Palestinian refugee camp in Nuseirat, the IDF said in a statement. The names of the people are Noa Agramani (25), Almog Meir (21), Shlomi Ziv (40) and Andrey Kozlov (27).

The situation in the Middle East sharply escalated following an incursion of Hamas militants from the Gaza Strip into Israel on October 7, accompanied by killings of residents of Israeli settlements near the border and taking more than 200 hostages, including children, women and elderly people. Hamas cast the attack as a response to Israeli actions against the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. Israel declared a complete siege of the Gaza Strip and started striking the enclave and parts of Lebanon and Syria. Clashes are also taking place in the West Bank.