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US may want Palestinian-Israeli conflict to expand beyond region — Lavrov

The top Russian diplomat stressed that people who are into such scenarios actually want to provoke an even bigger crisis

MOSCOW, November 15. /TASS/. The expansion of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict outside the region may triggered by the United States, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said.

"It seems to me that people who develop such scenarios actually want to provoke an even bigger crisis. Perhaps this is what the Americans want," the top Russian diplomat said in an interview with RT, responding to a request to comment on the likelihood of the Gaza conflict expanding beyond the region.

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, killing residents of Israeli border settlements and taking over 200 hostages, including women, children and the elderly. 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. Israel has announced a total blockade of the Gaza Strip and has been delivering air strikes on Gaza as well as some parts of Lebanon and Syria. Clashes are also underway in the West Bank.