MOSCOW, October 20. /TASS/. Israel has made the decision to launch a ground operation in the Gaza Strip, Israeli Ambassador to Russia Alexander Ben Zvi told TASS.

"I will say that the decision has been made. This decision has to do with achieving our goals, which we have already talked about. This is the destruction of all Hamas terrorist organizations and the release of hostages. And so, this cannot be done without a ground operation, among other things. Therefore, we can say that the decision has been made," the diplomat said.

At the same time, Ben Zvi did not specify when the ground operation would begin.

"We should not forget that over 1,400 of our people have been killed," the ambassador noted. "We must stop all this, we have to deal with it," he stressed.

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 announced a total blockade of the Gaza Strip as it has been delivering rocket attacks on Gaza as well as some districts in Lebanon and Syria. Clashes are also taking place in the West Bank.

More than 3,400 Palestinians have been killed in clashes and strikes, while over 12,000 have suffered wounds, since the renewed outbreak of violence began. In Israel, up to 1,500 people lost their lives and over 4,200 have been wounded.