A delegation of the Palestinian militant organization Hamas met today in Russia with the officials of that country, and on that occasion Moscow requested that the hostages, kidnapped on October 7 in Israel, be released, including three Russian citizens.
As the “Times of Israel” writes, the delegation of Hamas, led by Musa Abu Marzouk, was received by Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov.
On the occasion of this visit, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that “the Russian side emphasized the need to urgently release civilians, including three Russian citizens – Andrey Kozlov, Aleksander Lobanov and Aleksander Trufanov.”
As stated in the statement, they were “abducted during the attack on October 7, and have been held by Palestinian groups ever since.”
Hamas attacked southern Israel on October 7, kidnapping 250 people and killing more than 1,200.
Israel responded to that first with artillery and air attacks on the Gaza Strip, then by encircling it and invading that densely populated area, with the proclaimed goal of the complete destruction of Hamas.