MOSCOW, July 29. /TASS/. Moscow is sending signals to the Israeli leadership a ceasefire is an urgent need, Russia’s ambassador to Tel Aviv Anatoly Viktorov said on the Rossiya-24 TV channel.

"It is crucial to urgently cease fire. We are sending relevant signals to the Israeli leadership. We are also expressing our assessments the Lebanese forces and other forces in the region have no intention to start a large-scale war in Israel. We hope that our assessments will be heard," he said.

At the same time, the ambassador emphasized, the prospects for the cessation of hostilities and bloodshed are extremely elusive, so serious work will have to be continued along these lines.

Viktorov also drew attention to the fact that the main thing now was to show restraint.

"I know that the Israeli leadership rejects any calls for restraint, citing the fact that Israeli civilians are being attacked, which is really so. But nevertheless, this vicious circle must be broken, otherwise there will be a big disaster, much bigger than what is happening now," he pointed out.

The situation in the Middle East sharply escalated after the infiltration of armed supporters of Hamas from the Gaza Strip into Israeli territory on October 7, 2023, accompanied by the killing of civilians in border settlements and the seizure of more than 240 hostages. In response, Israel launched a military operation in the enclave with the aim to wipe out the Hamas military and political structure and to free all those abducted.