UNITED NATIONS, July 18. /TASS/. A ceasefire in the Gaza Strip will help resume the negotiations on establishment of the Palestinian state, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said during a press conference in the United Nations after the Security Council meeting on the Middle East.

"Many participants advocated decisive steps. This position coincides with our position: to stop the hostilities, first and foremost, to stop the operation, to declare an indefinite ceasefire, to resolve the extremely pressing humanitarian issues, and, of course, stop Israeli actions on establishment of illegal settlements," he said. "Once it is done, we hope, this will create conditions for restoration of talks on implementation of UN decisions on establishment of the Palestinian state, coexisting with Israel in peace and security."

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 240 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.