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Sergey Lavrov's interview with Tucker Carlson

Ukraine faces tragedy, Palestine - disaster, says top Russian diplomat

Sergey Lavrov noted that Israel's operation in response to the terrorist attack acquired the proportion of collective punishment, which is against international humanitarian law

MOSCOW, December 6. /TASS/. A tragedy is unfolding in Ukraine, while Palestine is facing a disaster, as the number of civilians killed in one year in Palestine is almost twice as high as the number of civilians killed in ten years in the Ukrainian conflict, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in an interview with American journalist Tucker Carlson.

"In Palestine, during one year after the Israelis started their operation in response to this terrorist attack, which we condemned, this operation, of course, acquired the proportion of collective punishment, which is against international humanitarian law as well. So, during one year after the operation started in Palestine, the number of Palestinian civilians killed is estimated at 45,000. This is almost twice as many as the number of civilians on both sides of the Ukrainian conflict who have died during ten years after the coup. One year and ten years. So it is a tragedy in Ukraine. It's a disaster in Palestine," the top diplomat pointed out.

Tensions flared up again in the Middle East on October 7, 2023, when Hamas militants staged a surprise attack on Israeli territory from Gaza, killing residents of Israeli border settlements and taking over 250 hostages, including women, children and the elderly. Hamas described its attack as retaliation for the aggressive actions taken by Israeli authorities against the Al-Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem’s Old City. In response, Israel declared a total blockade of the Gaza Strip, home to 2.3 million Palestinians before the crisis, launching air strikes on Gaza as well as some parts of Lebanon and Syria before starting a ground operation in the Palestinian enclave.

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Foreign policy Sergey Lavrov

Military operation in Ukraine

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