The Ukrainian ambassador to Israel said that a plan is currently being developed to evacuate Ukrainians from Israel and from the Gaza Strip. The situation is quite complicated, but the embassy noted that they are making every effort to assist Ukrainian citizens and facilitate their speedy evacuation.
The Russian media took advantage of the worsening security situation in Israel to once again discredit Ukrainian government agencies. Thus, Russian media began to spread information that Kyiv allegedly refused to evacuate Ukrainian citizens from Israel and Palestine.
“Ambassador to Israel Yevgen Korniychuk said that as of today, there is no technical possibility to evacuate Ukrainians from Israel,” the Russian outlet writes.
Let’s find out what the situation with the evacuation of Ukrainians from Israel really is.
“Ukraine is preparing an urgent evacuation of Ukrainian citizens from the Gaza Strip before Israel launches a ground operation there. Lists of those wishing to travel to Egypt through the only open border crossing are being compiled. The evacuation is scheduled to take place by Thursday, October 12,” Suspilne reports, citing the words of Ukraine’s Ambassador to Israel Yevgen Korniychuk.
Yevgen Korniychuk also spoke about the peculiarities of organizing the evacuation of Ukrainians from Israel in an interview with Radio Liberty.
What do you need to know about the evacuation of Ukrainians from Israel?
The Ambassador of Ukraine to Israel noted that, unfortunately, it is not possible to organize an evacuation flight from the country, as it was done before: “Let me remind you that in 2001 we organized an evacuation flight. Back then, we sent 200 of our citizens, as well as five Bulgarians and 20 Moldovans. But then the state paid for the flight. Now we don’t have that option, first of all. And secondly, we have nowhere to take them. We cannot take them from war to war.”
Nevertheless, it is important to understand that the evacuation of Ukrainians is planned, but it will be organized differently. Yevgen Korniychuk pointed out that the evacuation of people from Israel will take place according to one scenario, and from the Gaza Strip according to another, because it is necessary to take into account that the situation there is completely different.
Ben Gurion Airport is currently operating normally in Israel. However, the cost of tickets to leave the country is problematic.
“The only problem is that many foreign companies have canceled flights due to the fact that insurance companies have significantly increased their flight insurance rates. Therefore, the cost of tickets has increased significantly, sometimes several times,” says the Ukrainian ambassador to Israel.
In order to enable people to buy tickets for flights from Israel at a reduced price, the Ukrainian Embassy is cooperating with sponsors. At the moment, the embassy has prepared the first plane to fly to Bucharest. A total of 200 tickets are available for this flight:
“The embassy does not touch the tickets, but all the people who have registered on our website will be able to buy them at a reasonable price. Not at the price I was talking about, but about 400 euros. That is normal,” Mr. Korniychuk said.
The situation is more complicated and complex in the Gaza Strip, as the region is currently blockaded. People are unable to leave the territory through Israeli checkpoints, so the only way to evacuate is through Egypt:
“I hope that on Thursday or Friday we will be able to take people out through Rafah [crossing point] to Egypt. As for Egypt, I would ask you to talk to our ambassador to Egypt. Because the decision has not been made yet and it is a difficult decision. Because the Egyptians will give another 48 hours for our citizens to leave the territory of Egypt,” Yevhen Korniychuk said.
The Ambassador emphasizes that there are no state funds to organize an evacuation flight from Gaza. However, the embassy hopes to cover part of the costs of evacuating Ukrainian citizens from this territory by attracting sponsors, as is the case in Israel.
Yevgen Korniychuk points out that the embassy is actively working and communicating with Ukrainians to provide them with the necessary assistance: “We are doing everything we can. And the consuls are working, falling over themselves, working 24-7. The embassy has a hotline. We are physically receiving citizens, and we are also monitoring the actions of other foreign embassies for possible cooperation.“
Thus, the evacuation of Ukrainians from Israel and the Gaza Strip is a difficult task for diplomats, but they are making every effort to create safe conditions for Ukrainian citizens to leave these territories.
