Putin: ‘Catastrophe’ in Gaza incomparable with invasion of Ukraine

Russian leader Vladimir Putin on Thursday described the situation in the Gaza Strip as a “catastrophe” unfolding on a scale that could not be compared to the Ukraine conflict.

During a news conference in Moscow, Putin made the comments as his full-scale military intervention against Kyiv approaches the two-year mark.

“Everybody here and around the world can see and look at the special military operation and at what is happening in Gaza and feel the difference,” he said, using the Kremlin’s name for its conflict in Ukraine.

“But there is nothing like this in Ukraine,” he added.

Putin’s government has maintained ties with Hamas and Israel, but he has been vocal in his criticism of Jerusalem. Putin is also widely seen as seeking closer ties with the Iranian government, key allies and financial backers of Hamas.

Russia has justified opening the war by falsely claiming Ukraine is controlled by “Nazis,” which Putin again repeated Thursday, without providing any proof.

The war between Israel and Hamas — now in its third month — began after the October 7 assault on Israel by Palestinian terror group Hamas. Some 1,200 Israeli citizens were killed and another approximately 240 taken hostage in the onslaught on communities, music festivals and army posts in southern Israel; the vast majority of victims were civilians.

Israel has responded by vowing to topple the Hamas regime. The campaign, which seeks to uproot the terror group’s infrastructure deeply embedded within Gaza’s civilian population, has left vast destruction in its wake, turning areas of Gaza into rubble and leaving many homeless.

The fighting has killed more than 18,600 people Gaza, many of them women and children, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, whose numbers could not be independently verified. That figure likely includes Hamas operatives and Gazans killed by errant Hamas rockets. Israel says it has killed at least 7,000 Hamas fighters and arrested hundreds more, and has taken measures to protect civilians, including publishing maps of safe zones.

The UN has said that more than 10,000 civilians have been killed in Ukraine since Russia’s army invaded in February 2022, warning that the real toll is likely to be much higher.

The Russian offensive has systemically targeted Ukrainian cities with missiles and drones, and troops, backed by mercenaries, have been accused of carrying out war crimes, including executions and rape. Russia has occupied large swaths of the south and east of the country following fierce hostilities.

While condemning the October 7 onslaught on southern Israel, Russia has nonetheless continued to back Hamas, hosting its leaders and speaking out against Israel. Russia’s reliance on Iran for arms for its invasion of Ukraine has also soured ties between Jerusalem and Moscow.