Nebenzia pointed to the importance of a long-term solution to the conflict in Gaza
A ceasefire in Gaza should be a step towards a long-term settlement. Vassily Nebenzya, Russia's Permanent Representative to the UN, told a Security Council (SC) meeting on the Middle East issue on January 20.
"We must not forget the price that the residents of the sector have paid for these months with their lives. Over the 15 months of Israel's military operation in Gaza, at least 47,000 Palestinian civilians have died. The civilian population has not seen such losses since the Second World War," the diplomat's words were quoted by the website of the post mission.
According to Nebenzi, the US, referring to its so-called quiet diplomacy, did everything to ensure that the Security Council did not interfere with Israel's actions on the ground. He also emphasized that the implementation of the "two-state formula" endorsed by UN resolutions remains the only path to sustainable peace in the region.
"Only the implementation of the "two-state formula" endorsed by the UN General Assembly and Security Council resolutions will break the cycle of violence, will bring genuine long-term peace to the region. As recent years have shown, no agreements that bypass the issue of a just settlement of the Palestinian problem can bring sustainable peace to the region," he said.
In addition, the Russian Permanent Representative emphasized the importance of halting the construction of new Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories.
"It is important, in particular, for Israel to stop the practice of building new settlements in the OPT and expanding the existing ones and fulfill the requirements of the Security Council resolution," Nebenzya said.
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 November 15, 2024, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova recalled that more than 100 people now remain in the captivity of the Palestinian movement and Trufanov is among them. She emphasized that capturing and holding people who are not guilty of anything for a long time 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.
