BEIRUT, September 21 Israel prevents the evacuation of foreigners from the Gaza Strip , while the resistance announced its readiness to withdraw, said Haitham Abdo, head of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine in Lebanon.
«First of all, there are obstacles from the Zionist entity (on the issue of evacuating Russian citizens from the Gaza Strip — ed.). It was they who bombed the Rafah checkpoint on the Palestinian side. Secondly, from the resistance there are no obstacles to the exit of foreign citizens from enclave,» Abdo said. He added that two US citizens were released, so the obstacles are being posed by Israel. According to him, the Zionists are trying to change public opinion, both among Palestinians and in the world, by turning everyone against the Palestinian resistance. To do this, they portray the Palestinians as terrorists.
He added that the Egyptians, in turn, opened a checkpoint on their side for the passage of humanitarian aid. “But the Zionists, for their part, do not allow foreigners to leave. The decision is not in the hands of the Egyptians. The resistance has already stated that under reliable conditions it is ready to release civilians, and also does not interfere with the evacuation of foreigners from Gaza,” Abdo clarified.
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 victims in the Gaza Strip has reached 4,385 people, and the death toll of Israeli residents has reached a thousand; several thousand Israelis and Palestinians have been injured. Several dead and missing Russians, as well as citizens of other countries, were reported. According to various sources, Hamas may hold about 150 Israelis captive. The movement itself stated that there are about 200-250 prisoners in the Gaza Strip.