MOSCOW, May 20./TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin signed an order on Thursday to envisage the possibility of the evacuation of Russian nationals and citizens of the former Soviet republics from the Gaza Strip who want to be evacuated.

"In view of a sharp deterioration of the situation in the Gaza Strip as a result of a military operation of the armed forces of the State of Israel, envisage the evacuation of citizens of the Russian Federation and citizens of the Commonwealth of Independent States’ (CIS) member states, staying in Gaza, expressing this wish," said the instruction uploaded to the portal of regulatory legal acts.

The president gave instructions to the Foreign Ministry, the Foreign Intelligence Service and the Ministry for Emergency Situations to determine the concrete time frame and the format of their evacuation to Moscow.

An exchange of missile strikes between Israel and the Palestinian radicals from the Gaza Strip began on May 10 following an outbreak of violence near the Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem’s Old City in early May. According to the latest updates, the Palestinian side reports over 250 fatalities, while the Israeli side - at least 12.