Israeli Ambassador to Russia Ben Zvi said that it is impossible to destroy Hamas structures and free hostages without an operation of this kind. At the same time, he did not specify possible dates for the start of the operation.
Israel has decided to launch a ground operation in the Gaza Strip, Israeli ambassador to Russia Alexander Ben Zvi said.
“I would say that the decision has been made. Because the decision is related to the fulfilment of our tasks, which we have already talked about. This is the destruction of all Hamas terrorist structures and the release of hostages,” TASS quoted him as saying.
At the same time, Ben Zvi did not specify possible dates for the start of the ground operation.
“We must not forget that we have more than 1,400 dead. We have to stop all this, we have to solve it,” Ben Zvi emphasised.
Ben Zvi added that Israel demands from Hamas to release unilaterally taken hostage children, the elderly and women, but the representatives of the Palestinian movement do not take any steps in this direction and delay negotiations.
Recall, the coordinator of strategic communications in the U.S. National Security Council John Kirby earlier said that Washington does not plan to enter the war on the side of Israel, which also does not seek to do so. Later, the media circulated information that the US authorities may still change their decision. At the same time, the administration of U.S. President Joe Biden assesses the situation as “extremely difficult,” as it has not yet been able to cope with the hostage crisis.
On 13 October, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at the CIS summit in Bishkek that the Russian Federation was ready to act as a mediator in the Palestinian-Israeli settlement. He stressed that today it was necessary to look for ways of exclusively peaceful resolution of the conflict.