MOSCOW, December 28. /TASS/. Russia has obtained passage permits allowing about 1,300 residents of the Gaza Strip to be evacuated from the besieged enclave via the Rafah border crossing with Egypt, Russian Foreign Ministry Crisis Management Center Director Yury Gorlach said at a briefing.

"In general, our foreign institutions have received permits for passage through the Rafah border crossing for about 1,300 people," the diplomat said.

Gorlach explained that during the entire evacuation period, 1,125 people exited Gaza through Rafah and then were transported to Russia on special Emergencies Ministry flights. "Of these, 644 are Russian citizens and 473 are Palestinian family members of Russians," he said. "We also managed to bring out citizens of Kyrgyzstan, Ukraine, Sweden and Morocco."