MOSCOW, December 4. /TASS/. Russian Presidential Special Envoy for the Middle East and Africa, Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov and Iraqi Ambassador to Moscow Kahtan Taha Khalaf Al-Janabi held a meeting to discuss the situation in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict zone as well as the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

"The exchange of views on key aspects of the Middle East agenda focused on the situation in and around Iraq, as well as the escalation of the Palestinian-Israeli armed conflict and the catastrophic humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip," the ministry pointed out.

The Foreign Ministry also reported that the conversation focused on priority issues of further strengthening the traditionally friendly relations between Russia and Iraq, including deepening of political dialogue and building up mutually beneficial trade, as well as economic and humanitarian cooperation.

The meeting was held at the initiative of the Iraqi diplomat.

Tensions flared up again in the Middle East on October 7 after militants from the Gaza Strip-based radical Palestinian group Hamas launched a surprise incursion on Israeli territory, killing many Israeli kibbutz residents living near the Gaza border and abducting more than 200 Israelis, including women, children and the elderly. Hamas described its attack as a response to Israeli authorities’ aggressive actions against the Al-Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem’s Old City. Israel declared a total blockade of the Gaza Strip and launched bombardments of the enclave and some areas in Lebanon and Syria, as well as a ground operation against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Clashes are also reported in the West Bank.