Russia on Wednesday called on the Israeli and Palestinian authorities "to put an end to" the bloodshed and "resume political dialogue."

"In order to stop the bloodshed, we are urging both sides to put an end to their reciprocal blows that claim lives of absolutely innocent people, to take urgent steps to stabilize the situation and to resume the political dialogue," the foreign ministry said in a statement.

Early on Wednesday, Israeli artillery shells killed 18 Palestinian civilians in a town in northern Gaza.

The shelling came 24 hours after Israel announced it had ended Operation Autumn Clouds in the town, during which more than 50 Palestinian militants and civilians were killed.

The Russian Foreign Ministry "is deeply alarmed by this tragic incident, which killed many people among the civilian population."

Moscow "expressed profound condolences to the families and relatives of the killed peaceful civilians and sympathy to the wounded," the ministry said.

Russia believes "the actions of the Israeli army transcend the limits of the declared goal to prevent fire attacks on Israel from the territory of the Gaza Strip and are fraught with a further aggravation of the situation surrounding Palestine-Israel relations."

"Unfortunately, the current escalation of violence is taking place precisely at the time when the principal political forces of the Palestine National Administration are endeavoring to form a coalition government, which will be able to cope with the vital problems of the Palestinians and to establish constructive relations with Israel," the ministry said.

Meanwhile, Moscow also regarded that "Gaza extremist elements share responsibility for this due to their continuing missile attacks on Israeli territory. The day before, they fired five "Qassam" missiles at the cities of Sderot and Ashkelon, thereby provoking the Israeli authorities to react by force."

Source: Xinhua