The official representative of the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Lior Haiat, has announced to RIA Novosti that the Rafah border crossing, located on the border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt, has been temporarily closed for security reasons.
The border crossing is used for the evacuation and import of humanitarian aid.
“Due to security concerns, the Rafah border crossing is periodically closed,” said the Israeli diplomat, commenting on the delays in evacuating foreign citizens from the Palestinian enclave.
Previously, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs called the words of the Israeli ambassador “shocking,” stating that the coordination of Russian lists for evacuation from Gaza through the Rafah border crossing would take two weeks. The ministry stated that Moscow has fulfilled all the conditions of its partners and that the issue “only depends on the position of the Israeli side.”
The head of the Israeli diplomatic mission explained the delay by Egypt’s limitations on the number of incoming individuals. However, Hamas claims that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu blocked the last-minute agreement on the release of dual-citizenship hostages.
On November 7, TASS agency reported, citing a diplomatic source, that the evacuation of Russian citizens from the Gaza Strip should begin within the next two days. Later, it became known that everything is ready for the withdrawal of people from the Palestinian enclave.
Earlier, Prime Minister Netanyahu stated the goals of Israel in the war against Hamas.
