Zelensky: Nearly 40 more Ukrainians evacuated from Gaza
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Ukraine evacuated another group of its citizens from the Gaza Strip amid increasing Israeli strikes on the Palestinian enclave, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Dec. 8.
"Our intelligence agency, our diplomats continue to rescue Ukrainian citizens from the Gaza Strip… Almost 40 more Ukrainians are safe," Zelensky said in his evening address.
The president didn't specify the exact number of evacuated Ukrainian citizens.
After a week-long truce for the exchange of hostages expired on Dec. 1, Israel resumed military operations against the militant group Hamas, which governs Gaza.
On the same day, Ukraine's Ambassador to Israel Yevhen Korniichuk said that another 146 Ukrainians had requested to be evacuated from Gaza since the start of the ceasefire and the successful completion of the first stage of evacuation.
At the time, Ukraine managed to evacuate a total of 259 people from Gaza, according to Korniichuk.
The evacuation of foreigners from Gaza began on Nov. 1 when Egypt finally opened the Rafah checkpoint, and the first Ukrainians were allowed to leave on Nov. 7.
The fighting in Israel and Gaza broke out after the Palestinian militant group Hamas launched an unprecedented attack on Israeli settlements in early October.
Tel Aviv responded with retaliatory airstrikes against Gaza, a total blockade of the enclave, and a ground offensive. Thousands of people, mostly civilians, have been killed on both sides.
As of Oct. 23, more than 500 Ukrainians have been evacuated from Israel. Some 19 Ukrainian citizens have been confirmed as killed in Israel, and four others in Gaza, according to Ukrainian authorities.
