Oct 28 (Reuters) – Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov declared that Israeli bombing of Gaza is contrary to international law and could create a catastrophe that will last for decades.
Lavrov made the comments, some of Moscow’s most critical of Israel to date, in an interview with the Belarusian state news agency Belta, which made them public on Saturday.
“While we condemn terrorism, we categorically disagree that terrorism can be responded to by violating the rules of international humanitarian law, including the indiscriminate use of force against targets known to contain civilians, including hostages who have been taken,” he said. Lavrov.
He added that it is impossible to destroy Hamas, as Israel has committed to doing, without destroying Gaza and most of its civilian population.
“If Gaza is destroyed and 2 million inhabitants are expelled, as some politicians in Israel and abroad propose, it will create a catastrophe for many decades, if not centuries,” Lavrov warned.
“It is necessary to stop and announce humanitarian programs to save the population under blockade.”
Health authorities in Hamas-ruled Gaza declared on Friday that 7,326 Palestinians had died since Israeli bombing began. On October 7, Hamas carried out an attack in which Israel says 1,400 Israelis, mostly civilians, were killed. Hamas also took more than 200 hostages.
Russia, which supports an immediate ceasefire and a two-state solution, has angered Israel by inviting a Hamas delegation to Moscow, a decision it defended on Friday. Hamas has said it is seeking eight hostages from Gaza at Russia’s request.
Lavrov stated that Russia is also in close contact with Israel.
“We remain in full contact with Israel, and our ambassador is in regular contact with them,” Lavrov said.
“We are sending signals about the need to seek a peaceful solution and not continue with this announced ‘scorched earth’ strategy.”
kyiv and the West have accused Russia itself of bombing civilians throughout Ukraine. Moscow claims it does not deliberately attack civilians and only targets military targets. (Reporting by Andrew Osborn; Editing in Spanish by Ricardo Figueroa)
Source: Ambito
