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Middle East conflict

Russia decisively condemns Israeli strike at Damascus — diplomat

Maria Zakharova underscored that Russia "once again urges Israel to respect the sovereignty of states and comply with the basic norms of international law"

MOSCOW, October 9. /TASS/. Russia decisively condemns Israel’s October 8 strike at Damascus, which took place in a densely developed area, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.

"We decisively condemn this action. Whoever was its target, the attack was carried out in a third country, in a densely developed area, which leads to unavoidable casualties among the innocent. It is outrageous that such actions have literally become a routine practice, applied to Syria, Iran and the Gaza Strip," the diplomat said.

In this context, she underscored that Russia "once again urges Israel to respect the sovereignty of states and comply with the basic norms of international law."

"We point out the extremely reckless and dangerous nature of the committed act of aggression, which clearly shows the intent for further expansion of the armed escalation in the region," the spokeswoman added.

Previously, the Syrian Defense Ministry reported that 7 people were killed and 11 were injured in the Israeli airstrike at a residential building in Damascus. According to Al Hadath, the attacked building was located less than 1 km away from the Iranian embassy in Syria. The embassy said that no Iranian nationals were injured in the attack. Al Hadath speculated that the attack targeted a Hezbollah supporter.

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