Conflict between Israel and Palestine. This is how Russian medias show it

Russian media enthusiastically report events in the Middle East. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova is concerned about the "escalation of the situation in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict zone," and Vladimir Putin discusses the need to stop the bloodshed.

The most important thing is that in such a situation, civilian casualties will be absolutely unacceptable. Nearly two million people live there. Now the most important thing is to stop the bloodshed, Putin announced during the summit of the Commonwealth of Independent States.

For now, there is no evidence of Russia's involvement in the Hamas attack on Israel. However, there are some suspicions and accusations from the Ukrainian side.

Steve Rosenberg, an experienced journalist and BBC correspondent in Moscow, argues that Russia did not contribute to the Hamas attack on Israel. But Putin undoubtedly benefits from what has happened.

It's tempting to perceive Vladimir Putin as a James Bond-style villain, sitting behind a gigantic control panel in a mountain hideout, sowing chaos across the world. Press one button and turmoil erupts in the Balkans. Press another and the Middle East explodes. It's tempting... but probably misguided. It exaggerates the global influence of the Kremlin's leader - argues from Moscow, Steve Rosenberg.

The journalist notes that Russia has connections with Hamas and has become a close ally of Iran. However, he adds that this does not necessarily mean that Moscow was directly involved in the Hamas attack on Israel or knew about it beforehand.

Rosenberg quotes the statement of Alexander Ben-Zvi, Israel's ambassador to Russia, who stated that suggesting Moscow is linked to the atrocities committed by Hamas in Israel, is "total nonsense".

Firstly, as Rosenberg points out, dramatic media reports from Israel divert attention from the war in Ukraine. Secondly, countries supporting Ukraine will devote more attention to Israel, which could tip the scales of the war in favor of Russia.

Russian authorities are also hoping that due to the situation in the Middle East, some of the Western arms supplies to Ukraine will be redirected to Israel — the BBC correspondent is convinced.

Furthermore, as Rosenberg emphasizes, Russia - a country that attacked its neighbor - is trying to strengthen its position by presenting itself as a potential mediator in the Middle East conflict.

Finally — the journalist argues that the Kremlin may take the opportunity to blame the US for the violent escalation of the conflict in the Middle East.

Since Hamas' attack on Israel, Vladimir Putin's main message has been that "this is an example of the failure of United States policy in the Middle East." [...] Portraying America as the main culprit in the Middle East is the Kremlin's way of strengthening Russia's position in the region at the expense of Washington — believes Rosenberg.