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Russian diplomats not planning to evacuate from West Bank’s Ramallah — mission spokeswoman

According to Aliya Zaripova, the lists of Russians for evacuation from the Gaza Strip remain the same

MOSCOW, October 19. /TASS/. Russian diplomats have no plans to evacuate from the West Bank city of Ramallah, Aliya Zaripova, spokeswoman for the Russian mission to the Palestinian Authority, told TASS.

"The diplomats are in the West Bank, in a different area. There is no discussion about their evacuation," she said when asked about plans to evacuate Russian diplomats.

According to the spokeswoman, the lists of Russians for evacuation from the Gaza Strip remain the same. Earlier, it was reported that the number of applications exceeded 550, of which about 400 were Russian citizens.

The Russian Emergencies Ministry said on Thursday that a special aircraft with a cargo of humanitarian aid for the population of Gaza had flown from the Moscow Region to Egypt.

Tensions flared up again in the Middle East on October 7 when militants from the radical Palestinian movement Hamas staged a surprise attack on Israeli territory from the Gaza Strip. Hamas described its attack as a response to the aggressive actions of Israeli authorities against the Al-Aqsa Mosque in the Old City of Jerusalem. Israel has announced a total blockade of the Gaza Strip as it has been delivering rocket attacks on Gaza as well as some districts in Lebanon and Syria. Clashes are also taking place in the West Bank.