MOSCOW, November 12. /TASS/. The first Russian nationals have been evacuated from the Gaza Strip, the press office of Russia’s Emergencies Ministry reported on Sunday.
"The Emergencies Ministry of Russia jointly with Russian diplomats has organized work for the evacuation of civilians from the Gaza Strip. As of now, Russian citizens who have expressed their desire to leave the conflict area are crossing the border point," the press office said in a statement.
The Emergencies Ministry’s staff who are receiving Russian nationals are rendering them medical and psychological assistance and providing them with food and potable water. The evacuated citizens will be subsequently sent to Cairo where the Russian Emergencies Ministry has set up its emergency operations center and will also receive help in restoring their documents, the press office said.
Two Russian Il-76 transport planes of the Russian Emergencies Ministry have been in a state of readiness in Cairo since November 5 to evacuate Russians from the Gaza Strip.
Tensions flared up again in the Middle East on October 7 when militants from the radical Palestinian Hamas movement 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 announced a total blockade of the Gaza Strip and began delivering missile strikes on the besieged Palestinian enclave and some areas in Lebanon and Syria. Clashes are also taking place on the West Bank of the Jordan River.
IDF (Israel Defense Forces) Spokesman Daniel Hagari said on October 27 that Israel was expanding its ground military operation in the Gaza Strip.
It was earlier reported that almost 600 people with foreign or double citizenship would be able to leave the Gaza Strip on November 10 through the Rafah crossing on the border with Egypt. However, the border crossing’s operation was blocked. Special Russian Presidential Representative for the Middle East and Africa, Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov said earlier that the evacuation of Russian nationals through the Rafah crossing would take no more than three days.