Photo credit: Channel One / 1tv.ru
The number of Russian citizens who are waiting for the opportunity to leave the Gaza Strip is about 600 people, RIA Novosti reports. According to the Russian Ambassador to Israel Anatoly Viktorov, intensive work is underway with the Egyptian authorities to organize the evacuation of Russians. The evacuation lists also include the names of another 300 people, most of them are CIS citizens.
The diplomat assured that the evacuation will begin as soon as Cairo opens the Rafah border crossing for Russians. It is located on the border of Egypt and the Gaza Strip.
After receiving a signal from Egypt, embassy employees will get involved in the evacuation.
The border crossing for foreigners, Palestinians with dual citizenship and employees of international organizations opened on November, 1. About 5,000 people must leave the enclave.
The Hamas movement included in the list citizens of Japan, Austria, Bulgaria, Jordan, Indonesia, the Czech Republic, and Australia. It is supplemented by representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross and non-governmental organizations from different countries.
The ambassador also noted that it is difficult to name the exact number of Russian hostages who remain in the hands of Hamas. This data changes every day, explained the head of the diplomatic mission.
Earlier, the head of the Russian Permanent Mission to the UN, Vasily Nebenzya, called the outbreak of violence that engulfed Israel and Palestine unprecedented. As a result, he stressed, thousands of civilians on both sides were killed.
Russkiy Mir
