LOC18:08
15:08 GMT
MOSCOW, Aug 6 (KUNA) -- The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation expressed profound concern over the conflict in and around Gaza Strip, reaffirming support to the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people.
The Israeli Air Force launched an offensive on Gaza Strip yesterday, which sparked a new wave of hostilities and could lead to a largescale confrontation, the Ministry said in a statement on Saturday.
It urged both sides to exercise restraint, deescalate the tension and prevent further exacerbation of the already worse humanitarian situation in Gaza.
Russia supports the efforts to establish a durable ceasefire as a prelude to reaching a comprehensive settlement to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict based on the two-state solution, the statement noted.
It reaffirmed backing to the Palestinian people's right to establish an independent state within the pre-June 1967 borderlines and in keeping with the relevant resolutions of the UN Security Council and General Assembly.
Earlier today, Palestinian medical sources said the death toll topped 13 from Israeli air attacks on Gaza, including a 5-year-old girl and a young woman, besides 114 injuries. (end)
as.fas.gb