MOSCOW, October 18. /TASS/. The assassination of Yahya Sinwar, the head of the political bureau of the Palestinian Hamas movement, was jarring, but it will not be a turning point that sets off a new wave of escalation in the Middle East, Russian presidential envoy for the Middle East and African countries and Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov told reporters.

On Thursday, the press service of the Israel Defense Forces said that Sinwar was eliminated during an operation in the southern part of the Gaza Strip on October 16. "This is not the first time such dramatic events have happened. There is always someone waiting in the wings. Such a person has already been found. As far as I understand, it is Khaled Mashal, who once served as Head of the Hamas political bureau. Now, he will do so again," the senior diplomat said.

Bogdanov also responded to a question about whether this moment could mark a turning point in the Middle East conflict, sending it down another spiral of escalation. "No [I do not consider it to be]," the diplomat said.

Hamas has not yet officially commented on reports of Sinwar's death.

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 hostages. In response, Israel launched a military operation in Gaza with the aim of destroying the military and political structure of Hamas and freeing all those kidnapped.