Russian Deputy Foreign Minister, Mikhail Bogdanov, confirmed today, Thursday, that Israel has the right to defend itself; “But self-defense does not consist of killing civilians in the Gaza Strip.”

He said after holding a meeting in Qatar with leaders from the Hamas movement, that the fate of the detained hostages was discussed.

"Without killing innocent people"

He also added during a roundtable entitled “The Prospects of the Crisis in the Middle East and the Tasks of Russian Policy”: “Italy, Spain, Britain, and Canada all assert that Israel has the right to self-defense. No one disputes that, but this self-defense should not "It consists of killing a large number of completely innocent people in Gaza."

Warning of land invasion

Meanwhile, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday that any Israeli ground attack in Gaza would exacerbate the already disastrous humanitarian situation in the Strip.

The UN Security Council had failed to agree on two draft resolutions submitted by the United States of America and Russia regarding the escalation of the situation in Gaza and Israel and the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip.

“Selfishness prevented efforts to achieve calm.”

Russian delegate Vasily Nebenzia said that narrow and selfish interests have prevented efforts to reach a calm in Gaza, and that Washington is using its veto to pass politicized decisions, stressing his country’s rejection of any measure or decision aimed at displacing civilians from Gaza.

The Russian delegate to the United Nations added, "The Security Council was unable to send a clear message regarding the calm in Gaza."

Details of the Russian draft resolution

The Russian draft resolution called for an immediate, permanent and fully respected humanitarian ceasefire, and strongly condemned all forms of violence and hostilities committed against civilians.

He rejected the project and "categorically condemned the heinous attacks launched by Hamas in Israel and the taking of civilian hostages."

It also categorically condemned "indiscriminate attacks against civilians and civilian objects in the Gaza Strip that lead to civilian casualties."

He also condemned and rejected measures aimed at "imposing a siege on the Gaza Strip that deprives the civilian population of the means indispensable for its survival, in violation of international humanitarian law."

Source: Al Araby Al Jadeed