MOSCOW, Dec 10 — Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov today said it was not acceptable for Israel to use Hamas’ terror attack on October 7 as justification for the collective punishment of the Palestinian people, and called for international monitoring on the ground in Gaza.

Israeli tanks battled their way to the centre of Khan Younis today in a major new push into the heart of the main city in the southern Gaza Strip.

President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly blamed the war between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas on the failure of years of US diplomacy in the Middle East, while aiming to position Russia as an important player with ties to all the major actors in the region. — Reuters