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Middle East conflict

No contacts with Israel, Palestine leaders penciled in on Putin’s schedule yet — Kremlin

According to Dmitry Peskov, the escalation of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict is "a serious danger for the region"

MOSCOW, October 9. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin has no plans at the moment to contact the top leadership of Israel and Palestine, but such contacts could be arranged expeditiously if need be, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

"At the moment, there are no such contacts on his schedule. Contacts are carried out through [the appropriate] diplomatic agencies. If necessary, such contacts can be scheduled very quickly," he said in answering a relevant question.

According to Peskov, the escalation of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict is "a serious danger for the region."

"It’s unlikely that anything can be added here and something should be added to the statement that was articulated by our Foreign Ministry. We are extremely concerned," the Kremlin spokesman said.

"We believe that it is necessary to steer this situation in a peaceful direction as soon as possible, because the continuation of such a round of violence, of course, is fraught with further escalation and expansion of the conflict. This is a great danger for the region, so we are extremely concerned," Peskov stressed.

Israel came under missile attack from the Gaza Strip on the morning of October 7. Simultaneously, several groups of Palestinian militants from the Hamas movement infiltrated the Jewish state. The Israeli authorities approved a previously announced decision to put the country in a "state of war." The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced they was launching Operation Iron Swords in retaliation for the attack launched from the Palestinian exclave. Hamas Politburo Head Ismail Haniyeh described the Palestinian operation as a response to aggressive actions by the Israeli authorities against the Al-Aqsa Mosque in the Old City of Jerusalem. Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant authorized the callup of reservists and ordered that "the special security situation" be expanded nationwide. According to the latest data, about 500 Palestinians have been killed and another 2,700 wounded. In Israel, more than 700 people have been killed and more than 2,200 wounded.

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