Russia expresses its most serious concern at the sharp aggravation of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Russian foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said on Saturday.
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"We call on the Palestinian and Israeli sides to implement an immediate ceasefire, renounce violence, exercise the necessary restraint and establish, with the assistance of the international community, a negotiation process aimed at establishing a comprehensive, lasting and long-awaited peace in the Middle East," she said in a statement.
Russia is in contact with Israel, the Palestinians and Arab countries over the flare-up, the Interfax news agency reported earlier, citing Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov.
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Wounded arrive by military chopper to the Sheba Medical Center outside Tel Aviv
(Photo: Dana Kopel)
Earlier, Ukraine President Volodomyr Zelensky condemned what he called a "terrorist attack" on Israel after a surprise assault by the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas and backed the country's right to self-defense.
"Anyone who resorts to terror commits a crime against the world. Whoever finances terror is committing a crime against the world," he wrote on the social media platform X. "The world must stand united and in solidarity so that terror does not attempt to break or subjugate life anywhere and at any moment."
Ukraine is currently fending off a full-scale invasion by Russia.
The Pentagon released a statement saying Israel would receive whatever it needs for the fight against Hamas. U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Saturday that the United States would work to ensure that Israel "has what it needs to defend itself, Austin said.
"Over the coming days the Department of Defense will work to ensure that Israel has what it needs to defend itself and protect civilians from indiscriminate violence and terrorism."