Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on October 26 that Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani was in Moscow and confirmed information that a Hamas delegation was also present in the Russian capital, according to Russian media.
Citing a source from the Hamas delegation, RIA Novosti news agency said senior Hamas member Abu Marzook was among those arriving in Moscow.
Also according to RIA, during the meeting with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov, the Hamas representative appreciated Russian President Vladimir Putin's views on the Hamas-Israel conflict and Moscow's diplomatic efforts. The Hamas representative said the two sides discussed ways to stop what Hamas considers "Western-backed crimes" by Israel.
Hamas forces
Ms Zakharova said Mr Bogdanov also had a bilateral meeting with Mr Kani, but the content of the conversation was not disclosed. Russia did not immediately confirm whether any trilateral meeting took place in Moscow.
Russia has ties with all the key players in the Middle East, including Israel, Iran, the Palestinian Authority of President Mahmoud Abbas based in the West Bank, as well as Hamas, the Palestinian political-military organization that controls Gaza.
In another development, Hamas' armed wing said on October 26 that nearly 50 hostages it was holding in the Gaza Strip had been killed since Israel began shelling the territory nearly three weeks ago.
"The Al-Qassam Brigades estimates that the number of Jewish prisoners killed in the Gaza Strip due to attacks and massacres by Zionist forces has reached nearly 50," the group said in a statement posted on its Telegram channel, according to AFP. The claim could not be independently verified.
Israel launched a massive air and artillery bombardment of Gaza after Hamas launched a surprise attack on southern Israel on October 7. In that attack, some 1,400 Israeli civilians were killed and 224 people of mixed nationality were taken hostage by Hamas to Gaza. According to Israeli government figures, at least half of the hostages had foreign passports.
According to public information so far, Hamas has only released four hostages, including an American mother and daughter and two elderly Israeli women, thanks to the mediation efforts of Qatar and Egypt.
Hamas has demanded that Israel end its attacks - which have killed more than 6,500 Palestinian civilians in Gaza so far - if it wants peace talks and the release of hostages. However, Israel has said it will not stop firing until all hostages are released.
In that context, Israel is preparing to launch a ground attack in Gaza to “destroy Hamas”, leading to concerns that the lives of hostages will be in danger. US media reported that US officials have asked Israel to delay the planned ground attack so they can rescue more hostages from Gaza.
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