UPDATE - Russia welcomes deal between Israel, Hamas for humanitarian pause

UPDATES WITH STATEMENT BY KREMLIN SPOKESMAN DMITRY PESKOV, REVISES DECK, BACKGROUND

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW (AA) – Russia on Wednesday welcomed the deal between Israel and Hamas for a four-day humanitarian pause in the fighting in the Gaza Strip.

"Moscow welcomes the agreement reached between Israel and Hamas on a four-day humanitarian pause. This is what Russia has been calling for since the beginning of the escalation of the conflict," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told Russian media.

She also praised Qatar's mediation in achieving the agreement, saying Doha's efforts led to the practical implementation of the global call for de-escalation.

Separately, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow "positively" assesses the announcement of the humanitarian pause.

"This is the first good news from Gaza in a very long time. Russia and most of the countries of the world called for a cease-fire, for a humanitarian pause because only on the basis of such pauses some outlines of future attempts at a sustainable settlement of this problem may be built," he said.

Early on Wednesday, the Qatari Foreign Ministry announced that an agreement on a four-day humanitarian pause was achieved between Israel and Hamas, with the starting time of the pause to be announced within 24 hours.

The Qatar-mediated agreement suggests the announcement of a four-day pause in fighting, the entry of 300 trucks loaded with humanitarian aid, including fuel, into the Gaza Strip, release of 50 Israelis held by Hamas in exchange for 150 Palestinian detainees in Israeli jails.

The agreement also allows an extension of the pause and the potential release of more children and women held by the two sides.

Israel has launched relentless air and ground attacks in the Gaza Strip following a cross-border attack by the Palestinian group Hamas on Oct. 7.

Authorities in Gaza said Tuesday that the death toll from the ongoing Israeli attacks on the besieged enclave since then has risen past 14,100 people – including over 5,800 children and 3,900 women. The Israeli death toll, meanwhile, is around 1,200, according to official figures.