This photo taken on Nov 9, 2023 from a position along the border with the Gaza Strip in southern Israel, shows a view of destroyed buildings in Gaza. (PHOTO / AFP)

MOSCOW/CAIRO/TEHRAN - Moscow is making efforts to help pave the way for a diplomatic solution and an early ceasefire in Gaza, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Thursday.

"We are undertaking intensive efforts to deescalate the conflict, to achieve an early ceasefire," Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova said at a press briefing.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov remain in constant contact with officials from the region, said Zakharova.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said on Thursday that Israel's ongoing strikes on the Gaza Strip had gone beyond the legitimate right to self-defense, labeling such attacks as serious "violations of international humanitarian law"

"A single message is being conveyed to all sides on the urgent need for a ceasefire," she said.

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Zakharova also recalled that Russia's draft resolution on a humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza had previously been rejected by the United States and its allies at the United Nations Security Council.

"We were truly shocked to hear the statement made by the Israeli Ambassador to Moscow that the evacuation process could take up to two weeks," she said, adding that this logic was unacceptable.

"For us, the issue of rescuing Russian citizens, compatriots, and all those that have contacted us from there, is a priority," she said. 

‘Beyond legitimate self-defense’

Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said on Thursday that Israel's ongoing strikes on the Gaza Strip had gone beyond the legitimate right to self-defense, labeling such attacks as serious "violations of international humanitarian law."

Shoukry made the remarks during an international conference in Paris on the deteriorating humanitarian conditions in Gaza, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

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The Egyptian top diplomat reiterated Egypt's call for "an immediate and sustainable ceasefire."

"We denounce all practices that aim to impose a new fait accompli to forcibly displace, transfer, and deport Palestinians from their land, as the number of displaced people in Gaza has reached two-thirds of its population," he was quoted as saying.

Egyptian Foreign Affairs Minister Sameh Shoukry arrives at the Elysee Palace, in Paris, Nov 9, 2023. (PHOTO / AP)

Israel struck Gaza in retaliation for a cross-border Hamas attack on southern Israel on Oct 7, during which Hamas militants took about 240 hostages. The bloody conflict has so far led to the deaths of at least 10,569 Palestinians in Gaza and killed more than 1,400 people in Israel.

Ground operations by the Israeli military and continued bombardment are hitting civilians in Gaza, which has been under a tight siege for over a month now, with lack of shelter, food, water, fuel, electricity, and health facilities.

READ MORE: Relentless Gaza bombardment deadly to journalists, aid workers

Shoukry said that even providing a safe corridor for Gaza's civilians to move from the north to the south of the enclave "is not a positive development, but rather a continuation of displacement in violation of international humanitarian law."

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday called for an immediate end to the bombardments and siege on the Gaza Strip

He also expressed his country's rejection of the double-standard policies of "some countries" biased toward Israel.

Since Oct 21, after Israel's approval, Egypt has sent hundreds of humanitarian aid trucks to the besieged enclave via the Rafah border crossing, donated by Egyptian institutions and NGOs as well as other countries and organizations.

The Palestine Red Crescent Society said on Thursday that it had received a total of 756 relief trucks so far.

Shoukry noted that Egypt alone donated about 5,400 tons of aid supplies to Gaza despite the country's economic challenges, urging the international community for more contributions.

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Moreover, he stressed "the settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict will only be achieved on the basis of the two-state solution and the international legitimacy resolutions."

Smoke rises following an Israeli airstrike in the Gaza Strip, as seen from southern Israel, Nov 9, 2023. (PHOTO / AP)

Egypt signed a peace treaty with Israel in 1979 and has for many years been a key peace mediator in the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict. 

Iran, Türkiye urge end to Israeli attacks

Meanwhile in Uzbekistan, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan called for an immediate end to the bombardments and siege on the Gaza Strip, Iran's official news agency IRNA reported.

The two presidents made the appeal in a meeting on the sidelines of the 16th Summit of the Economic Cooperation Organization in the Uzbek capital Tashkent, during which they also held comprehensive negotiations on the latest developments in Gaza, the report said.

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Raisi and Erdogan also highlighted the necessity to make "practical and effective" decisions in an extraordinary summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) scheduled for the Saudi capital Riyadh on Sunday, according to IRNA.

Raisi is expected to visit Riyadh for the upcoming emergency meeting of the OIC's heads of state on Palestine's issue, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported on Monday.

The trip will be the first visit by Iran's president to Saudi Arabia since the two countries reached a landmark deal to normalize relations in March.