MOSCOW, Oct. 13 Russia is ready at any moment to take citizens out of Israel as soon as the necessary conditions for this exist, said Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“We are ready at any moment when there are conditions for this. There are bombings there every day. If someone wants to leave Israel — please, we will do this at any second,” Putin said at a press conference following his visit to Kyrgyzstan.
The President added that he would forward this issue to the Foreign Ministry. According to him, Russia is ready to help if someone wants to urgently leave Israeli territory, and in order to get the necessary help, you need to contact the Russian Embassy.
On the morning of October 7, Israel was subjected to an unprecedented-scale rocket attack from the Gaza Strip as part of Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, announced by the military wing of the Palestinian Hamas movement. In addition, after massive rocket attacks, the organization’s fighters penetrated into the border areas in southern Israel. In response, the Israel Defense Forces launched Operation Iron Swords against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Within days of the attack, the Israeli military took control of all settlements near the Gaza border and began conducting air strikes on targets, including civilians, in the strip. Israel also announced a complete blockade of the Gaza Strip: the supply of water, food, electricity, medicine, and fuel was suspended.
The number of civilian deaths on each side exceeded a thousand, and several thousand Israelis and Palestinians were injured. Including, it was reported about several dead and missing Russians, as well as citizens of other countries. According to various sources, about 150 Israelis may be held captive by Hamas.
The Russian Foreign Ministry called on the parties to stop hostilities. According to the position of Russian President Vladimir Putin, the settlement of the Middle East crisis is possible exclusively on the basis of a “two-state” formula approved by the UN Security Council, which provides for the creation of an independent Palestinian state within the 1967 borders with its capital in East Jerusalem.
The Palestinian-Israeli conflict related to territorial interests of the parties, has been a source of tension and fighting in the region for many decades. A UN decision with the active role of the USSR in 1947 determined the creation of two states — Israel and Palestine, but only the Israeli one was created. Israel, while declaring agreement with the two-state principle, did not completely liberate the Palestinian territories.