Hamas announced that it is ready to release hostages from the list of citizens of the Russian Federation

Photo: Global Look Press/Abed Rahim Khatib Apaimages

Russia provided Hamas representatives with a list of eight people allegedly held hostage. This was announced on Saturday 28 October by Musa Abu Marzuk, a member of the politburo and head of the movement's external relations department.

Hamas, he said, is looking for these people and is ready to release them.

"We have received a list of citizens who have dual citizenship from the Russian side through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. We are very attentive to this list and will process it carefully," Marzuk told RIA Novosti.

He added that the movement is treating civilians who were captured and are now in Gaza, "as with guests".

"As for the civilians who were captured and are now in Gaza, we treat them as guests. We are now looking for those people whose [list] was handed over by the Russian side. It is difficult, but we are looking. And once we find them, we will release them." Marzuk said.

A Hamas delegation arrived in Moscow for a visit on 26 October. The Russian side met with the delegation to discuss the release of hostages and the evacuation of Russians from the Gaza Strip.

On 27 October, Marzouk said that Hamas was ready to release the civilian hostages but could not do so because of the shelling in the Gaza Strip. On the same day, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesman Daniel Hagari announced that Hamas was holding 229 hostages in the Gaza Strip.

The situation in the Middle East escalated on the morning of 7 October when Hamas exposed Israeli territory to massive rocket fire from the Gaza Strip and also invaded border areas in the south of the country. On the same day, Israel began retaliating against targets in the Gaza Strip.

According to the latest figures, the number of casualties in the Gaza Strip has risen to 7,000, 18,500 injured, 5,400 injured on the Israeli side and more than 1,400 killed.
The Palestinians are trying to return the border between the two countries to the lines that existed before the 1967 Six-Day War. Palestine wants to create its own state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip and make East Jerusalem its capital. Israel rejects the conditions set.

(Izvestia/USA)