KAZAN, October 24. /TASS/. The humanitarian disaster in the Gaza Strip is heart-wrenching for the majority of people around the world, Russian President Vladimir Putin said.

"The humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza certainly stands out. Everything happening there cannot help but cause heartache in the vast majority of people worldwide," he stated at an outreach/BRICS Plus meeting following a speech by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

Earlier, the Russian leader noted that the escalation in the Middle East has resulted in over 40,000 fatalities, mostly civilians, in the Gaza Strip alone.

Tensions flared up again in the Middle East on October 7, 2023, when militants from the Gaza-based Palestinian radical group Hamas staged a surprise incursion into Israeli territory. In response, Israel launched an unsuccessful ground operation in the enclave, which merely triggered a humanitarian crisis there. Israel has continued to strike the facilities and leaders of all forces opposing the Jewish state, expanding the conflict to varying degrees to Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, and Iran.