Russia has expressed concerns over Israel’s decision to intensify military activity in the Gaza and has called for a complete ceasefire and restoring humanitarian aid, Anadolu reports.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova, during a press briefing in Moscow yesterday, said Israel launched a large-scale land operation, sharply increasing the intensity of rocket and bomb strikes, resulting in a rise in civilian casualties.

“Reports indicate that approximately 300 people have been killed in attacks on social facilities and sites housing internally displaced persons in various parts of the Palestinian enclave over the past three day,” the spokesperson said.

“We are disappointed by this decision of the Israeli authorities, which inevitably leads to further loss of innocent lives and new destruction,” she stressed.

Zakharova maintained that the only path to normalising the situation in Gaza is through shifting the conflict’s resolution to a political and diplomatic framework.

“To achieve this, it is necessary to ensure a complete ceasefire and restore humanitarian aid to the population of the Gaza Strip, creating conditions for restarting the political process aimed at finding a fair and long-term solution to the Palestinian problem on internationally recognised legal foundations,” she added.

Zakharova said that Russia is actively and consistently pursuing the earliest achievement of these goals in close cooperation with partners and entities through international organisations primarily the UN.

Opinion

Editorial

Missing in action
17 Mar, 2026

Missing in action

NOT exactly known for playing a proactive role in protecting the interests of Muslim nations and populations...
Risk to stability
Updated 17 Mar, 2026

Risk to stability

THE risks to Pakistan’s fragile economic recovery from the US-Israel war on Iran cannot be dismissed. Yet the...
Enrolment push
17 Mar, 2026

Enrolment push

THE federal government has embarked upon the welcome initiative to enrol 25,000 out-of-school children in Islamabad...
Holding the line
16 Mar, 2026

Holding the line

PAKISTAN’S long battle against polio has recently produced encouraging signs. Data from the national eradication...
Power self-reliance
Updated 16 Mar, 2026

Power self-reliance

PAKISTAN’S transition to domestic sources of electricity is a welcome development for a country that has long been...
Looking for safety
16 Mar, 2026

Looking for safety

AS the Middle East conflict enters its third week, the war’s most enduring victims are not those who wage it....