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Live blog update| Gaza Under Attack

Russia pins blame on Israel

Russia, whose ties with Israel have been tested by Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, has appeared to pin initial blame on the Israelis for escalating the assault on Gaza.

"We are observing with profound worry how events are evolving," foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said, according to AFP, adding that Moscow was calling "on all the parties involved to show maximum restraint".

"The new escalation was caused by [the] Israeli army firing into the Gaza Strip on 5 August, to which Palestinian groups responded by carrying out massive and indiscriminate bombardments on Israeli territory," she said.