Russian ambassador to Israel welcomed the release of three hostages from the Gaza Strip
- Новости
- World
- Russian ambassador to Israel welcomed the release of three hostages from the Gaza Strip
Russian Ambassador to Israel Anatoly Viktorov has welcomed the release of three Israeli hostages from the Gaza Strip as part of an agreement between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas movement, and expressed hope for the imminent release of Russian Alexander Trufanov. His comment was published on January 20 on the website of the Russian diplomatic ministry.
"We hope that our compatriot Alexander Trufanov will also be able to return home safely in the near future. We count on taking into account our other appeals of humanitarian nature, previously transferred to the Palestinian side," he said.
In addition, the commentary of the Russian ambassador in Tel Aviv said that from the very beginning of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict Russia has been in favor of the speedy release of all hostages held in the Gaza Strip, as well as making efforts to solve humanitarian problems.
Viktorov met with the mother of Russian captive Trufanov last December. At that time, he said that the Russian side was taking all actions to release all hostages from the Gaza Strip.
The agreement on a ceasefire in Gaza became known on January 15. On the same day, Russian presidential representative for the Middle East and Africa, Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov held telephone talks with the leadership of the Palestinian movement and noted the priority of the release of Russian citizens held captive.
The ceasefire regime in the Gaza Strip began to operate in the morning of January 19. At the same time, Hamas handed over three Israeli hostages - Romy Gonen, Emily Damari and Doron Steinbrecher - to representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). The next day, Israel released the first 90 Palestinian prisoners as part of the deal.
On the same day, Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesman Majid bin Mohammed al-Ansari said that the US, Egypt and Qatar will begin consultations to agree on the second phase of the Gaza deal between Israel and Hamas on the 16th day after the ceasefire, which is February 3.
On November 15, 2024, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova recalled that more than 100 people now remain in the captivity of the Palestinian movement and among them are Russians Alexander Trufanov and Maxim Kharkin. She emphasized that the capture and long detention of people who are not guilty of anything cannot be justified in any way.
The situation in the Middle East escalated on the morning of October 7, 2023, when Hamas subjected the territory of Israel to a massive rocket attack from the Gaza Strip. On the same day, Israel began retaliatory strikes.
