Russian President Vladimir Putin condemned the conflict in Gaza as Israel’s military pounded the centre of the enclave with heavy air strikes on Wednesday. “What is happening now in Gaza in response to the terrorist attack on Israel does not resemble a war. It is a kind of total destruction of the civilian population,” Mr Putin told foreign news journalists. Mr Putin also said that only the creation of a Palestinian state would bring about peace, adding that he considers the status quo a result of “the total failure of the United States”.
