MOSCOW, November 15. /TASS/. Rescuers of the Russian emergencies ministry have to work in dangerous conditions while assisting the evacuation of Russians from the Gaza Strip, but they are successfully coping with their tasks, Russian Emergency Situations Minister Alexander Kurenkov has said.
"The most important thing is that they all come back alive. In any case, it is a zone of hostilities, and we are worried about our personnel," the minister said, adding that their mission "is dangerous."
"We realize the dangers when we assign this kind of missions to our personnel. It is a difficult task, and our staffers are coping with it," he added.
The evacuation from the Gaza Strip of Russian citizens who found themselves in the zone of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict is organized by the Russian Emergencies Ministry in coordination with diplomats. The first group of 70 Russian citizens crossed the Rafah checkpoint into the territory of Egypt on November 12.
According to Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, more than 1,000 people have registered for evacuation from the Gaza Strip, including "Russian citizens, compatriots, and 300 minors."
The first Il-76 plane with 70 evacuees on board landed in Moscow on Monday. The second flight brought 98 Russian citizens to the Russian capital in the early hours of Wednesday.