MOSCOW, November 9. /TASS/. About 300 underage Russian nationals are on the waiting list for evacuation from Gaza, Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova wrote on her Telegram channel.
"There are a lot of children on the waiting list to be evacuated from Gaza. We are talking about approximately 300 minors from Russia. They have been subject to a blockade for a month," the diplomat said.
Earlier, Zakharova said Russia had everything in place to begin evacuating fellow countrymen and CIS citizens who requested to leave, and a waiting list had been made. Israeli Ambassador to Russia Alexander Ben Zvi told TASS that the process of getting all Russian citizens on the waiting list out of the Gaza Strip through the Rafah crossing might take about two weeks.
Tensions flared up again in the Middle East on October 7 when Hamas militants 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 on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem’s Old City. Israel announced a total blockade of the Gaza Strip and 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.