MOSCOW, November 11. /TASS/. Russia and African countries expressed their concern over the situation in Lebanon as they denounced Israeli attacks on residential neighborhoods in the Arab republic in a joint statement following the First Ministerial Conference of the Russia - Africa Partnership Forum.

"We express concern over the situation in Lebanon. We condemn Israeli attacks on residential areas in Lebanon that killed civilians and dealt a major damage to civilian infrastructure as we call for putting an immediate end to the hostilities," the joint statement released on the Russian Foreign Ministry’s website reads.

The sides said they were worried about the ongoing conflicts in the Middle East and the worsening of the situation in the occupied Palestinian territory, in particular the unprecedented escalation of violence in the Gaza Strip as a result of the Israeli military operation which has caused numerous civilian deaths and internal displacements as well as destruction to civilian infrastructure.

Russia and Africa emphasized the need to maintain Lebanon’s sovereignty and territorial integrity as they pushed for efforts toward finding a political and diplomatic solution to the crisis to bring peace and stability to the Middle East.