The Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations announced on Friday that it would send two planes to Egypt at the request of Russian President Vladimir Putin to deliver 28 tonnes of humanitarian aid to Gaza residents.

"Two aircraft of the Russian Emergencies Ministry will deliver 28 tonnes of humanitarian aid for the population of the Gaza Strip ... Russia's humanitarian aid will be transferred to the Egyptian Red Crescent Society for its further delivery to the Gaza Strip," the ministry said in a statement, adding that the shipments include medical aid, among other things.

Earlier on Thursday, Russian Security Council Deputy Secretary Alexander Venediktov said the case of Ukraine demonstrates that the US will profit from greater escalation in the Middle East, adding that “We all know about the Americans' years-long work to undermine global peacekeeping efforts and counter the rapprochement of the positions of the sides in the Palestinian-Israeli confrontation. As experience shows, as in the case of Ukraine, the Americans will not fail to take advantage of further escalation in the Middle East,” Venediktov said.

This comes after Russia's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Vasily Nebenzia, affirmed that "Israel" is an occupying state and has no right to defend itself, calling for an end to the bloodshed to avoid expanding the scope of the crisis to the entire region.

Nebenzia also stressed the need to allow the mediators to work on finding a "diplomatic solution, including the immediate release of prisoners." He believed that a diplomatic solution would have to be found sooner or later, but the question was "How many innocent people will die during this time."

Humanitarian situation 'focal point' 

During a meeting of the UNSC, Russia's Permanent Representative to the UN, Vassily Nebenzia, emphasized the need to hold "regular open briefings" on the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip. The diplomat stressed the need to make the humanitarian situation a focal point of the UNSC, reiterating the need for an immediate ceasefire that the United States opposes.

Nebenzia underlined the United States' role in paralyzing the UN body's adoption of an immediate ceasefire. "This polling situation has also been close due to the US position the Security Council has essentially been paralyzed and has still not been able to adopt a resolution with an immediate ceasefire."

"This polling situation has also been close due to the US position the Security Council has essentially been paralyzed and has still not been able to adopt a resolution with an immediate ceasefire."