Ukrainians evacuated from the Gaza arrived in Chisinau

On the evening of November 11, 155 people evacuated from the Gaza Strip as part of the mission of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine arrived at Chisinau airport by plane from Egypt.

This results from the announcement of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of National Defense.

145 Ukrainian citizens, 9 Moldovan citizens and 1 Palestinian were rescued from the conflict zone. Then Ukrainians will return home

the Central Statistical Office said in a statement.

It is noted that among the evacuees there are many families with children, as well as one Ukrainian citizen suffering from cancer: after arriving in the capital of Moldova, she was immediately transported by ambulance to one of the checkpoints with Ukraine, where she met with a team of our doctors and was transported to hospital in Odesa.

What is known about the evacuation of foreigners from the Gaza Strip

On Wednesday, November 1, the Rafah checkpoint between the Gaza Strip and Egypt began admitting foreigners from the Gaza side. According to the Reuters news agency, Qatar has agreed with Israel, Egypt and the Hamas group to open the crossing, although it is not yet clear for what period.

Ukraine's ambassador to Israel Korniychuk previously told the public about Qatar's mediation on the opening of a humanitarian corridor.

Earlier, Foreign Ministry spokesman Oleh Nikolenko said in a comment that the number of Ukrainians killed in the Gaza Strip had increased to 4 (three children and an adult) and 6 more people were injured.

On October 24 in the morning, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine announced that half a thousand Ukrainians were in the Gaza Strip, of which only over 300 citizens reported to be evacuated.

On October 21, the first humanitarian aid arrived in Gaza: medicines, food and bottled water. As of October 26, a total of approximately 70 trucks were allowed into the sector. By comparison, before the war began, at least one hundred trucks were delivered to the Gaza Strip every day. At the same time, the checkpoint was never opened for people to cross. As reported by the Wall Street Journal, from the very beginning there were reasons to believe that Egypt would allow the evacuation of foreigners from Gaza, but the country did not want to allow the influx of refugees into its territory.

In peacetime, Egypt also tightly controlled the Rafah crossing. Palestinians who wanted to leave Gaza before the war had to obtain permission from both Hamas and Egypt. According to the UN, in August 2023, the Egyptian authorities allowed the departure of approximately 20,000 people.

On the evening of November 1, 361 foreigners entered Egypt through the Rafah checkpoint from the Gaza Strip. The Embassy of Ukraine in Egypt, on November 6, the checkpoint in Rafah on the border of the Gaza Strip and Egypt was reopened, but only for those who were on the previous lists and did not have time to leave.