Hamas head of International Relations Bassem Naeem, Russian Deputy FM Mikhail Bogdanov, and leading member of Hamas's Political Bureau Mousa Abu Marzouk, during a meeting in Moscow on October 26, 2023. (Hamas Telegram channel)

The representative of the Hamas delegation in Moscow, Abu Hamid, told Kommersant that the Palestinian Resistance does not intend to release hostages until an agreement to a ceasefire is reached.

According to Abu Hamid, hundreds of citizens and dozens of militants from various Palestinian factions entered the territories occupied in 1948, and after the fall of the Israeli Gaza Division, they captured dozens of people, most of them civilians, and we need time to find them in the Gaza Strip and then release them, stressing that calm is required to ensure that.

Israeli bombing has killed 50 of the prisoners so far, he noted.

Abu Hamid declared that the Hamas delegation gave Russian officials a clear picture of the reasons behind the operation on October 7.

The Russian Federation, he said, is a friendly country for the Palestinian people and maintains relations with all representatives of the Palestinian people, further adding that he is ready to consult with Russia on various issues.

Angering the Israelis

Earlier today, Friday, the Kremlin highlighted the necessity of maintaining contacts with all sides as it defended its invitation to the Hamas delegation to Moscow.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov announced that the Hamas delegation met with representatives of Russia's Foreign Ministry, but no contact was made with Kremlin.

"Israel" called the Hamas delegation's visit to Moscow on Thursday, October 26 a “shameful step” after it urged Russia to expel the delegation, whose invitation it called "deplorable".

During the meeting, Hamas expressed strong appreciation for the position of Russian President Vladimir Putin and the diplomatic efforts put forth by Russia regarding the war on Gaza.

Hamas discussed the need to halt what they referred to as "crimes of Israel supported by the West" and reiterated their right to resist the occupation through various means.

This comes after the United Nations Security Council turned down a resolution drafted by the United States concerning the war on Gaza due to Russia and China exercising their veto power against it.

Russian Ambassador Vasily Nebenzia was critical of the resolution, describing it as "political" and expressing concerns about the approach taken in its drafting. He labeled the draft resolution as a "license" for "Israel" to proceed with a ground invasion in Gaza.