MOSCOW, February 2. /TASS/. Israel demands immediate access of the International Red Cross (IRC) to hostages held by the Palestinian movement Hamas, Israeli Ambassador to Moscow Simona Halperin said.

"It is necessary to release everyone at once, but it is also very important to immediately give access to the Red Cross to visit them (hostages - TASS) and see the situation, if necessary - to provide medical assistance," the diplomat said at a TASS press conference dedicated to the release of Israeli women with Russian citizenship from the Gaza Strip.

"There was an agreement between Israel together with Qatar, Egypt and the French to transfer medicines according to the list that was created on the situation of each of the hostages who remained in captivity. And the medicines were delivered almost two weeks ago. But we don't have any information yet that the medicines have actually reached those who need them," Halperin added.

Tensions flared up again in the Middle East on October 7, 2023, when militants from the Gaza Strip-based radical Palestinian movement Hamas staged a surprise attack on Israeli territory from Gaza, killing residents of Israeli border settlements and taking over 240 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. In response, Israel declared a total blockade of the Gaza Strip, home to 2.3 million Palestinians before the crisis, and has been delivering air strikes on Gaza as well as some parts of Lebanon and Syria. Clashes have also been reported on the West Bank.