Forensic experts check bodies of the people killed in a surprise attack by the Gaza-ruling Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), at the National Center for Forensic Medicine in Tel Aviv, Israel, on Oct. 16, 2023. At least 2,750 Palestinians were killed by the Israeli army in Gaza, while in Israel, the death toll was at least 1,284 as of Sunday, according to official figures from the two sides. (Tomer Neuberg/JINI via Xinhua)

DAMASCUS, Oct. 16 (Xinhua) -- Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin held a phone conversation Monday to discuss the pressing situation in the Gaza Strip, according to Syria's state news agency SANA.

The two leaders highlighted the urgency in the immediate delivery of humanitarian aid to the besieged, densely-populated enclave, and discussed ways to stop Israeli shelling and the displacement of Palestinians in Gaza, it reported.

At least 2,750 Palestinians were killed by the Israeli army in Gaza, while in Israel, the death toll was at least 1,284 as of Sunday, according to official figures from the two sides.