Zelensky: "Ukraine has already evacuated over 200 people from the Gaza Strip, more groups are being prepared for evacuation"

Ukraine has already evacuated over 200 people from the Gaza Strip, and further groups are being prepared for evacuation, said President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky.

Today I would like to thank the work of our entire team and those who helped rescue Ukrainian citizens from the Gaza Strip. It is a very complex, very delicate and multi-level operation. Over 200 people were rescued. We are also preparing further groups for evacuation

Zelensky said.

The head of state thanked the authorities of Egypt and Israel, Ukrainian diplomats, Sky Up Airlines, Rabbi Yonatan Markowich and officers of the State Government for their help.

As he noted

Ukraine's success in this type of operation once again shows the world how much our state values ​​its citizens, regardless of where they are, and how effective our state institutions are.

Let us recall that on November 9 in the morning, Ukraine received permission for another 228 Ukrainians to leave the Gaza Strip. Earlier, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed the death of four Ukrainians in Gaza, including three children. Six more Ukrainian citizens were injured.

Timeline of the war between Israel and the Gaza Strip

On October 7, Hamas militants launched a massive rocket attack on Israel's southern and central regions and invaded the country's territory. According to the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, militants killed about 1,200 Israelis and took 240 hostages, including infants, children, women, and the elderly.

In response, Israel launched an anti-terrorist operation and entered a state of war. On October 9, the Israeli army announced that it had regained control of all cities on the border with the Gaza Strip, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the IDF had eliminated hundreds of terrorists, but "it will not stop there and turn into ruins everywhere where Hamas operates".

Civilians are especially killed as a result of Israeli airstrikes in the Gaza Strip. There is no verified information on the number of victims. Gaza's Hamas-controlled Ministry of Health says there are thousands of them.

Netanyahu announced that on October 27, Israel launched a ground operation in the Gaza Strip. On November 5, IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari said that the Israeli military had completely surrounded Gaza City, dividing the Palestinian sector in two, as reported by The Times of Israel.