UNITED NATIONS, October 31. /TASS/. Humanitarian pauses will not help in the situation in the Middle East and the time of half measures has passed, Russia’s Permanent Representative to the UN Vasily Nebenzya said at a session of the UN Security Council.

"The time of half measures and evasive calls has passed, and no humanitarian pauses will help. It is impossible to provide humanitarian aid in the midst of combat on the ground. I hope that everyone present here realizes this," the diplomat noted.

"Today, the priority tasks of the global community are to stop the bloodshed, minimize the damage to civilians and shift the situation to the political and diplomatic track," Nebenzya said.

He stressed the importance of consolidating collective steps aimed at relaunching a full-fledged negotiation process between Israel and Palestine.

"In the current situation, the Russian Federation is making intensive efforts on de-escalating the situation on the ground, aiming to settle the crisis as soon as possible <...>, it is necessary to immediately cease fire and ensure humanitarian corridors for urgent aid to everyone who needs it," the Russian diplomat added.

Tensions flared up again in the Middle East on October 7 when militants from the Gaza-based Palestinian radical group Hamas staged a surprise incursion into Israeli territory from the Gaza Strip. Hamas described its attack as a response to the aggressive actions of Israeli authorities against the Al-Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem’s Old City. In response, Israel has announced a total blockade of the Gaza Strip, home to 2.3 million Palestinians, and has begun delivering air strikes on the enclave and certain parts of Lebanon and Syria. Clashes are underway in the West Bank as well.