Russia sees no immediate prospects to reach an agreement on the situation in the Gaza Strip, given Israel’s position, said the Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, speaking at the 13th Middle East Conference.

“Given the tough attitude of the Israeli leadership towards the continuation of its military actions in Gaza and now already their expansion to Rafah, we see no prospect of a rapid stabilization of the situation in the sector,” he said. “Nevertheless, it is necessary to provide conditions for a credible sustainable settlement while pursuing a ceasefire,” he added.

Lavrov said Russia drew attention at the UN Security Council session to the Palestinian issue in its long-standing initiative to hold consultations with countries in the region to “harmonize their approaches for the creation of a Palestinian state”.

“After that, we suggest an inter-Palestinian meeting with the participation of all the leading Palestinian factions to bridge the internal gap” the Russian minister noted according to TASS.

On February 7, Benjamin Netanyahu said the Israeli military had received orders to prepare for the start of fighting in Rafah on the Gaza Strip’s border with Egypt. Two days later, he ordered the army to draw up a plan to evacuate civilians and eliminate the four remaining Hamas battalions in the city.

On February 12, Arab media reported massive Israeli military raids in Rafah. According to Al Mayadeen TV channel, 100 people died in the bombing and more than 230 were injured.

Tensions flared in the Middle East after Hamas militants from the Gaza Strip attacked Israeli territory on October 7, when scores of Israelis living in settlements near the border were killed and more than 200 people, including children, women and the elderly, were taken hostage. Hamas sees its attack as a response to Israeli authorities’ moves against the Al-Aqsa Mosque on Jerusalem’s Temple Mount. Israel has declared a complete blockade of the Gaza Strip and has launched shelling of the enclave and some areas in Lebanon and Syria.

On December 1, the Israeli military accused Hamas of violating the ceasefire that had been in effect since November 24 and announced that it would resume fighting in the Gaza Strip. The Palestinian Authority held the United States responsible for the new Israeli attack.