The Hamas militant group -- which is holding more than 200 hostages seized in its October 7 attack on Israel -- is attempting to locate eight Russian-Israeli dual citizens following a request from Moscow to free them, Russian news agencies reported on October 28.
Moussa Abu Marzouk, a member of Hamas's political bureau, was quoted as saying the Russian Foreign Ministry had sent the militants a list with the names of eight people who have dual citizenship and are being held hostage in the Gaza Strip.
"We are very attentive to this list and will carefully process it, because we look at Russia as our closest friend," RIA Novosti quoted Marzouk as saying.
SEE ALSO: Iranians Show Little Support For Palestinian Cause Amid Gaza ConflictHamas has freed a small number of hostages seized on October 7, some with dual U.S.-Israeli citizenship. Among the latest freed hostages was Israeli grandmother Yocheved Lifshitz, 85, one of two women released late on October 23. Lifshitz told reporters she had been held in a network of tunnels within Gaza.
The Russian Foreign Ministry confirmed on October 26 that a delegation from the militant group had visited Moscow to discuss the situation in the Gaza Strip.
The ministry said it discussed the release of hostages in the Gaza Strip and the evacuation of foreigners, including Russian nationals, with a Hamas representative.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry reacted angrily to the October 26 visit, calling Russia’s invitation to the Hamas delegation "deplorable" and saying the organization is worse than Islamic State.
Iran-allied Hamas, designated a terrorist organization by the United States, the United Kingdom, and the European Union along with some other Western countries, took more than 200 hostages, some of them infants, during the assault.
Russia has good relations with the Palestinian militant group, which it does not consider a terror group, and has launched a diplomatic effort to try to free hostages held in Gaza.
Israel launched a withering bombardment of Gaza after Hamas gunmen stormed across the border, killing 1,400 people, mostly civilians, and taking nearly 230 others hostage, according to Israeli officials.
Health officials in the Gaza Strip on October 28 said Israeli strikes had killed 7,703 people, including more than 3,500 children.
The information could not independently be verified.