MOSCOW: Moscow is sparing no effort to help hostages in the Middle East and these efforts are yielding results, Russian President Vladimir Putin said.
“Following the escalation of the situation in the Middle East, Russia has been doing its utmost to help people who are held hostage,” he said at a meeting with Russia’s Chief Rabbi Berel Lazar and President of the Russia’s Federation of Jewish Communities Alexander Boroda.
The Russian foreign ministry “is working via Hamas’ political wing,” Putin said. “And in general, there are certain results.”
The president stressed that Russia is helping not only its nationals but also foreigners. “Of course, we pay primary attention to Russian citizens, but not only to them, but also to citizens of other countries, especially the elderly people and their families, who survived Holocaust,” he said.
Tensions flared up again in the Middle East on October 7 after militants from the Gaza Strip-based radical Palestinian group Hamas launched a surprise incursion on Israeli territory, killing many Israeli kibbutz residents living near the Gaza border and abducting more than 240 Israelis, including women, children and the elderly. Hamas described its attack as a response to Israeli authorities’ aggressive actions against the Al-Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem’s Old City. Israel declared a total blockade of the Gaza Strip and launched bombardments of the enclave and some areas in Lebanon and Syria, as well as a ground operation against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Clashes are also reported in the West Bank.
