Moscow concerned about worsening situation in Gaza - Foreign Ministry statement
MOSCOW. July 18 (Interfax) - Moscow is deeply concerned about the continued deterioration of the situation surrounding the Gaza Strip related to the Israeli armed forces' ground operation, the Russian Foreign Ministry said.
"We are particularly concerned about the fact that increasingly more peaceful Palestinian citizens, including women and children, have been victims of the conflict," the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement circulated on Friday amid the escalation of hostilities in Gaza.
"The situation surrounding the Gaza Strip has reached a new dangerous round of tension. The Israeli army started a ground operation in the strip on the evening of July 17. The Israeli Defense Ministry declared that its primary goal is to eliminate Hamas's military potential, including the system of tunnels leading from Gaza to Israeli territory," it said.
Information available indicates that about 25 Palestinians, including children, were killed by artillery fire within several hours after the start of the operation. It has also been reported that one Israeli soldier has been killed and five other servicemen injured, it said.
"In this situation, we are calling once again for doing everything possible to stop the ruinous forcible confrontation. An Arab Republic of Egypt's initiative could serve as the basis for armistice agreements, which both the Israelis and the Palestinian central authorities have agreed to in principle. Russia, acting both on the bilateral basis and in multilateral formats, is willing to facilitate a search for a way out of the dangerous crisis surrounding the Gaza Strip," it said.