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Middle East conflict

Diplomats continue efforts to release Russians held hostage in Gaza — envoy

Anatoly Viktorov noted that since the very beginning of the unprecedented escalation this issue has been a top priority for Russia

TEL AVIV, July 10. /TASS/. Russian Ambassador to Israel Anatoly Viktorov has held a meeting with Yelena Trufanova, a Russian woman who was released from the Gaza Strip in November, 2023 with Moscow’s help, the embassy’s press service reported.

According to the diplomatic agency, Viktorov assured Trufanova that Russian diplomats will keep working to get her son Alexey released, as well as other compatriots still held in the Palestinian enclave.

"[Viktorov] emphasized that Russia will continue its diplomatic work for the soonest release of her son A.V. Trufanov as well as other compatriots held in the Gaza Strip. He noted that since the very beginning of the unprecedented escalation this issue has been a top priority for Russia," the statement reads.

In turn, Trufanova "expressed gratitude to the Russian leadership and diplomats for their consistent efforts aimed at releasing the hostages," the embassy noted.

Tensions flared up again in the Middle East on October 7 after militants from the Gaza Strip-based radical Palestinian group Hamas launched a surprise incursion on Israeli territory, killing many Israeli kibbutz residents living near the Gaza border and abducting more than 240 Israelis. In late November 2023, Hamas announced an agreement with Israel, which was brokered by Egypt and Qatar, on a four-day humanitarian truce in the Gaza Strip, which took effect on November 24. According to the Israeli side, as many as 110 hostages were released during this period. According to the Jewish state, 120 people are still held in Gaza.

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