Russia 'shocked' by the delay in evacuating its citizens from Gaza

The Russian Foreign Ministry expressed on Thursday its "shock" at the delay in evacuating Russian citizens from the Gaza Strip to Egypt, which could take up to two weeks, according to the Israeli ambassador to Moscow.

Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said during her weekly press conference, "We were truly shocked yesterday after hearing a statement by the Israeli ambassador in Moscow that coordinating Russian lists (for evacuation) could take up to two weeks."

Zakharova denounced “this unacceptable logic,” stressing that “everything is ready” on the Russian side for evacuation through the Rafah crossing under Egyptian control.

She added, "We cannot understand why this operation did not proceed, despite our operational procedures and compliance with all requests and conditions specified within the framework of security procedures."

However, Israel's ambassador to Moscow, Alexander Ben Zvi, told the Russian TASS news agency on Wednesday that Egypt had decided to allow only 600 people to pass through the Rafah crossing daily.

He added, "If they only allow 600 people to pass per day, it may take two weeks" to evacuate Russian citizens, explaining that about 7,000 people are waiting to evacuate the Gaza Strip.

The Rafah crossing was reopened on November 1 to allow the evacuation of wounded Palestinians, foreigners, and dual nationals stranded in the small Palestinian enclave, which Israel has completely besieged and bombed relentlessly since the Hamas attack on October 7.

AFP