Putin says only people with 'heart of stone' can stay quiet on Gaza catastrophe

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW (AA) - Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday said only those who have a "heart of stone" can quietly look at the events in the Gaza Strip, where Israel has continued air and ground attacks for nearly four weeks.

Speaking at a meeting in Moscow, Putin warned that tragic events may be used to instigate violence and therefore it is necessary to step away from emotions.

"It's easy to throw a spark, very easy. With the horrors happening there, it's easy to do. ... When you look at the suffering and bloodied children, your fists clench and tears come to your eyes. This is the reaction of any normal person. If there is no such reaction, then a person does not have a heart, it is made of stone," he stressed.

Besides a large number of casualties, most of whom are women and children, and displacement, Gaza's 2.3 million residents are grappling with shortages of food, water, fuel, and medicine due to Israel’s blockade of the enclave. International calls for a cease-fire have thus far been ignored by Tel Aviv.

Commenting on the Oct. 29 civil unrest at the airport of Russia's region of Dagestan administrative center Makhachkala, Putin said an attack on Jews returning from Israel cannot help Palestinians.

"We must perceive all these events with a clear head, understand where the root of evil is, where it comes from," he emphasized.

The Russian president also claimed that arms supplied to Kyiv appear in the Middle East due to corruption in Ukraine. "Now they say that weapons from Ukraine pop up in the Middle East. Of course it does because they (Ukrainians) sell it. Including to the Taliban. And from there it goes everywhere else," he said.