Russia warns of foreign involvement in Palestinian conflict as US moves warships

Russia has warned against any involvement of a third party in the ongoing tension in Palestine after the United States relocated its warships to waters close to the Israeli-occupied territories.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday that it would urge all parties involved in the ongoing tension to try to reduce any escalation rather than seek a military solution.

“The risk of third forces becoming involved in this conflict is high ... It is very important to find ways as soon as possible to move towards some kind of negotiation process in order to reduce this escalation and move away from a military solution,” Peskov was quoted as saying TASS news agency.

The comments came a day after US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said it will send multiple military ships and aircraft closer to waters controlled by Israel as a show of support for the regime just after it was caught off guard by a massive attack by the Palestinian resistance group Hamas.

In a statement, Hamas has condemned the US decision as “aggression” against Palestinians, saying, “The announcement of the US that it will provide an aircraft carrier to support the occupation [Israel] is actual participation in the aggression against our people."

Nearly 800 Israelis have been killed and many more have been injured in rocket attacks and ground operations launched by Hamas from the Gaza Strip, the group in based.

Israel has launched rounds of airstrikes on Gaza since Saturday, killing more than 560 people and injuring thousands more.

Israel pounds Gaza, orders ‘complete siege', as it calls Gazans 'beastly people’  

Israel has stepped up its ferocious pounding of the besieged Gaza Strip as its troops struggled to clear out Hamas fighters more than two days after they burst across the fence from Gaza and overran Israeli bases.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Monday that the way out of the Palestinian conflict is for the Israeli regime and its backers to recognize Palestine's right to create an independent state.

Speaking in a press conference in Moscow along the visiting head of the Arab League Ahmed Aboul Gheit on Monday, Lavrov said that Russia doubts West’s policy on the Israeli regime would work at all.

“They say that (fighting) should be stopped immediately, that Israel should destroy the terrorists,” Lavrov said, referring to the way Israel and its backers describe Palestinian fighters.

“But this was done before... and never after the situation calmed down did they come to the fact that the main reason (for the conflict) needs to be eliminated ... The Palestinian problem should not be delayed further,” he said.

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