Lavrov told the Egyptian Foreign Minister about the importance of the speedy evacuation of Russians from Gaza

Foreign Ministers of Russia and Egypt Sergei Lavrov and Sameh Shoukry discussed the situation in the Gaza Strip by telephone. The Russian side called for the speedy evacuation of Russians from Gaza through the mediation of Egypt, reported Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation.

“The Russian side emphasized the urgent need to quickly organize the evacuation of Russian citizens located there from this Palestinian enclave with the assistance of Egyptian partners,” the statement said.

The parties also called any violent actions against civilians and attacks on civilian infrastructure and residential areas unacceptable. The ministers spoke in favor of immediately establishing a long-term ceasefire, establishing sustainable access for humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip and the release of hostages.

Cairo for the first time since the start of the war in the Middle East opened On November 1, the Rafah checkpoint for the evacuation of the wounded, as well as foreign citizens from the Gaza Strip, Vedomosti previously wrote. The Egyptian government agreed to allow 80 wounded Palestinians and over 400 foreign citizens into its territory.

Earlier, the Gaza Border Guard, controlled by Hamas, published lists of citizens who are allowed to leave the war zone in Gaza through the Rafah checkpoint. Among them are citizens of Australia, Austria, Bulgaria, Indonesia, Jordan, Finland, the Czech Republic and Japan. There were no Russians on the list. 2 November Gaza Border Guard allowed about 600 more foreigners will be allowed to leave through the Rafah checkpoint. The list included 400 Americans, as well as citizens of Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Belgium, Hungary, Greece, Italy, Mexico and others.

There are no Russians on the lists. Earlier, the Russian Foreign Ministry reported that it had provided the authorities of the countries involved with information about Russian citizens who would like to evacuate from the Gaza Strip. Russia’s permanent representative to the UN, Vasily Nebenzya, noted that about 1,000 Russian citizens and members of their families became virtual hostages of the military blockade of Gaza.