MOSCOW, November 24. /TASS/. Russian Special Presidential Envoy for the Middle East and Africa Mikhail Bogdanov discussed with Egyptian Ambassador to Moscow Nazih Nagari the situation in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict zone and praised the cooperation with Egypt in evacuating Russian citizens from the Gaza Strip, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
"The conversation focused on the situation in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict zone within the context of the November 21 meeting in Moscow between [Russian Foreign Minister] Sergey Lavrov and a delegation of foreign ministers from a number of Arab and Islamic states, which included Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry. The Russian side highly appreciated the cooperation with Egypt in resolving the entire range of issues related to the evacuation of Russian citizens from the Gaza Strip through Egyptian territory," the ministry said in a statement.
The parties also discussed the issues of resolving the situation in Syria, Lebanon and Sudan, the ministry added.
Earlier it was reported that more than 900 people applied for help in evacuation from the Gaza Strip. Roman Okhotenko, director of the Russian Emergencies Ministry’s information policy department, said that, during the day, 101 Russians crossed the border of the Gaza Strip through the Rafah border crossing and "in total, more than 750 people were evacuated from the conflict zone." He also noted that more than 650 people, including 300 children, have been brought to Russia since the beginning of the operation.
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 has announced a total blockade of the Gaza Strip and has been delivering air strikes on Gaza as well as some parts of Lebanon and Syria. Clashes are also underway in the West Bank.
A four-day ceasefire came into force in the Gaza Strip from 7:00 a.m. local time (5:00 a.m. GMT) on November 24.