All news

Eliminating Hamas not necessarily on par with wiping out Gaza — Israeli envoy to Russia

Alexander Ben Zvi noted that, currently, no negotiations are underway with Hamas on the release of Israeli hostages

MOSCOW, October 12. /TASS/. Eliminating the Palestinian radical movement Hamas does not mean wiping out the Gaza Strip, Israeli Ambassador to Moscow Alexander Ben Zvi said at a briefing.

"Absolutely not; Hamas is a terrorist organization, it is not the entire population of the Gaza Strip. There are a lot of people in the Gaza Strip who work in Israel," he said, replying to a question on the matter.

The envoy noted that, currently, no negotiations are underway with Hamas on the release of Israeli hostages. "First, we need to establish who is there and in what condition - dead or alive - there are a lot of women and children," he explained.

"On [October 7], in the villages along the border with the Gaza Strip we counted 1,300 people killed. There were about 200 soldiers and policemen among them, the rest are civilians. We have about 3,000 wounded and about 150 people missing," the diplomat said.

Tensions flared up again in the Middle East on October 7 when Hamas militants staged a surprise attack on Israeli territory from the Gaza Strip. Hamas described its operation as a response to the aggressive actions of Israeli authorities against the Al-Aqsa Mosque in the Old City of Jerusalem. Israel has declared a state of war readiness and announced a total blockade of the Gaza Strip, home to 2.3 million Palestinians. Clashes are underway in the West Bank as well.