MOSCOW, August 9. /TASS/. Russia condemns and rejects Israel’s plans for the Gaza Strip because their implementation is fraught with an aggravation of the already dramatic situation in this territory, the Foreign Ministry said.

The ministry noted that on August 8, the Israeli security cabinet approved a plan to expand the military operation in the Gaza Strip and take control of its once most densely populated central region.

"It is expected that not a single civilian will remain there soon. All of them will be subject to forced expulsion. Israel does not conceal its intention to gradually seize and occupy the entire sector in the future," it said in a statement.

"The implementation of such decisions and plans, which provoke condemnation and rejection, is fraught with the aggravation of the already extremely dramatic situation in the Palestinian enclave, which has all the traits of a humanitarian catastrophe."

Russia "confirms its unwavering position on the need for an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, the release of all hostages and detainees, as well as the restoration of unhindered humanitarian access. Moscow firmly believes that there is no alternative to resolving the Palestinian problem on a well-known international legal basis with a central two-state principle providing for the creation of an independent Palestinian state within the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital, co-existing in peace and security with Israel.".