Russian President, Vladimir Putin, has accused the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) of “indiscriminately” targeting civilians in Gaza instead of Hamas “terrorists” that infiltrated Southern Israel on October 7 and killed hundreds of civilians in Israel.
Putin stated this during a meeting with members of the Russian Security Council and Government, and the heads of security agencies, according to a statement by the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Tuesday.
“We remember how the current phase of the Middle East crisis began: it was a terrorist attack against Israeli civilians and civilians from other countries who happened to be in Israel at that time. We see that, unfortunately, instead of punishing criminals and terrorists, they started to retaliate according to the principle of collective responsibility,” Putin said.
The Russian president maintained that there is no justification for the events taking place in Gaza where thousands have been killed indiscriminately, without having anywhere to flee to or hide from the bombing.
“When you see blood-stained children, dead children, the suffering of women and old people, when you see medics killed, of course, it makes you clench your fists as tears well in your eyes,” Putin added.
Putin further reacted to anti-Jewish protests and riots in his country, blaming it on “dramatic situations in the Middle East” including the Israel-Hamas war, adding they are aimed at destabilizing and dividing the multi-ethnic and multi-faith society of Russia.
As usual, Putin did not fail to accuse the United States of causing the escalation in the Middle East.
“Those behind the Middle East conflict and other regional conflicts will be using the destructive impact of these conflicts to sow hatred and cause clashes between people around the world.
“These are the current ruling elites in the US and its satellites who are the main beneficiaries of the global instability that they use to extract their bloody rent,” Putin added.
On the part of the Israeli side, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected calls for a cease-fire, vowing to destroy Hamas.
The IDF also accused Hamas of using Gaza civilians as human shields by hiding in homes, hospitals, and religious centers.
Meanwhile, the United Nations said the ongoing war has resulted in a humanitarian crisis.
The Gaza health authorities say that 8,306 people in Gaza are dead so far while the IDF said over 1,400 of its people were killed by Hamas.
