MOSCOW, September 10. /TASS/. Russia’s priority in its contacts with Hamas is to release Russian nationals and citizens of a number of other countries who are held hostage in the Gaza Strip, the Russian foreign ministry said after a meeting between Russian presidential envoy for the Middle East and African countries and Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov with Tala Kharkina, the mother of Donetsk native Maxim Kharkin, who is held hostage by Hamas.

"During the meeting, which was also attended by Israeli Ambassador to Moscow Simone Halperin, Maxim Kharkin’s mother was informed about the persistent efforts made by Russian diplomacy to release the hostages - citizens of Russia and other countries," the ministry said. "It was reiterated that this humanitarian task in a top priority in contacts with representatives of the Hamas political wing in coordination with the authorities of a number of Middle East countries."

The ministry vowed that these efforts will continue.

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, including women, children and the elderly. Israel declared a total blockade of the Gaza Strip and launched bombardments of the enclave and some areas in Lebanon and Syria, as well as a ground operation against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Clashes are also reported in the West Bank.