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Middle East conflict

Israeli Embassy in Moscow tightens security measures in wake of anti-Israel protests

Israeli Ambassador to Moscow Alexander Ben Zvi said that the embassy had not receive threats

MOSCOW, October 18. /TASS/. The Embassy of Israel in Russia is tightening security measures in the wake of anti-Israel protests, Israeli Ambassador to Moscow Alexander Ben Zvi said on Wednesday.

"We have not received threats, but the [security] measures are underway," the ambassador said.

Spontaneous massive protests erupted on Tuesday night in a number of Turkish cities following the news about Israel’s alleged military strike on a hospital in the Gaza Strip. Protests were also reported to take place near the UK and French Embassies in Tehran.

Arab media outlets reported on October 17 that Israeli airstrikes on the central part of Gaza City had hit a hospital. The attack killed over 500 people and left hundreds wounded, according to the Palestinian radical group Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip.

However, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) denied responsibility, saying in a statement that the powerful explosion in the Gaza City hospital had resulted from a misfired rocket launched from within the Palestinian enclave. The IDF blamed the Islamic Jihad group for the rocket strike on the hospital.

Tensions flared up again in the Middle East on October 7 when militants from the radical Palestinian movement Hamas staged a surprise attack on 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 in the Old City of Jerusalem. Israel has announced a total blockade of the Gaza Strip and has been delivering rocket attacks on Gaza as well as some districts in Lebanon and Syria.

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