Israel and US Excluding Russians From Gaza Evacuation Lists - Hamas

Palestinian organization Hamas has clarified that it does not obstruct foreign citizens from leaving Gaza. However, the compilation of lists for travel to Egypt is managed by Israel and the United States, Hamas' head of international relations in the Gaza Strip and former health minister, Basem Naim, told Sputnik.

A diplomatic source told Sputnik on Tuesday that Russian and Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) citizens have still not been cleared to be evacuated from Gaza by Israel, despite all preparations being in place.

Wednesday's list of foreigners due to be evacuated from the strip did not include any Russian citizens either.

"The lists for leaving the Gaza Strip are prepared for those with other nationalities, namely Israelis and Americans. These lists are then sent to the Egyptians, who in turn send them to the Ministry of Interior to be published on the official website," Naim explained.

According to Hamas' head of international relations, Russian citizens were not included in the evacuation lists to leave the Gaza Strip because of obstacles from Tel Aviv and Washington.

"We have no role to play in this process, and we have no authority to determine who is allowed to leave Gaza for Egypt. Nevertheless, we do not prevent those who wish to leave Gaza from doing so," Naim added.