Russia describes 'terrifying' results of Israeli attack on Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Gaza

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW (AA) - Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova noted on Wednesday the "terrifying" results of an Israeli attack on the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah in the Gaza Strip.

Zakharova, responding to Anadolu's question at a news conference in Moscow, expressed shock and sympathy for those who were at the scene.

"This is a terrifying shooting. They can provoke nothing but shock and, of course, sympathy. We wish a speedy recovery to all those injured, and express our deepest condolences to the relatives of the victims, not only in this particular situation, but also over the past year of absolute madness that Western American curators have brought to the already difficult life of the region," she said.

At least four people were killed Monday and 40 injured when Israeli warplanes hit a courtyard at the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in the central Gazan city of Deir al-Balah, burning dozens of tents as displaced Palestinians slept.

Zakharova emphasized that violence against civilians and non-selective attacks on civilian objects, places of mass gathering of people, have no justification.

"Such military actions go beyond both international humanitarian law and general human morality. The only way to end the suffering of the residents of the Gaza Strip is to stop the fighting," she said.

Zakharova noted that from the very beginning of the "devastating crisis in the region, unprecedented in its scale," Russia and the vast majority of countries around the world have been making active efforts in the interests of an early normalization of the situation in Gaza, in the area of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict as a whole.

She stressed that the conflict must be solved by taking into account the root causes on the basis of international law, according to available and well-known international legal frameworks.

"Unfortunately, due to the position of the US and its allies, it is still not possible to adopt a resolution in the UN Security Council with an unequivocal demand for a sustainable cease-fire. As you can see, the Americans' attempts to promote indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas have not been crowned with success," she said.

According to the spokeswoman's assessment, the situation in Gaza continues to deteriorate, in addition to the Palestinian territories, it has affected the territory of Lebanon.

Zakharova urged the US to support the UN Security Council’s decisions that would meet the interests of an early de-escalation of violence in the region.

"The US should finally remember that they, like other permanent members of the UN Security Council, have a special responsibility for maintaining global peace and security. They must stop interfering with the normal work of this important international body," she said.

Israel has continued a brutal offensive on Gaza following a cross-border attack by the Palestinian group Hamas on Oct. 7 last year, despite a UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire.

Nearly 42,400 people have since been killed, mostly women and children, and more than 99,000 injured, according to local health authorities.

The Israeli onslaught has displaced almost the entire population of the Gaza Strip amid an ongoing blockade that has led to severe shortages of food, clean water and medicine.

Israel faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its actions in Gaza.