Russia is in contact with Hamas to free hostages seized by the Palestinian militant group during its attack on Israel and now being held in the Gaza Strip, the Russian ambassador to Israel said.
Izvestia newspaper quoted envoy Anatoly Viktorov as saying: "Of course, we have contacts with representatives of Hamas, and first of all they are aimed at rescuing the hostages from the places where they are now, captured by Hamas militants on the first day of the - frankly speaking - terrorist attack on Israeli civilians."