MUNICH, February 17. /TASS/. The G7 members have expressed their intention to work for prolonged and durable pauses in the hostilities leading to a sustainable ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

As is noted in a statement by Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, the chair of the G7 Foreign Ministers' meeting on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference, the urgent implementation of UNSC resolutions 2712 and 2720, including corridors to facilitate urgently needed assistance, civilian movement, and the release of hostages, are essential.

The G7 also notes that foreign nationals must be allowed to continue to depart from the zone of military strikes.

Tensions flared up again in the Middle East on October 7, 2023, when militants from the radical Palestinian group Hamas staged a surprise attack on Israeli territory from the Gaza Strip, killing residents of Israeli border settlements and taking 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. A ground operation in the enclave began.