The first group of 93 Romanians was evacuated from Gaza yesterday. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MAE) has released the first photographs taken at the Rafah border crossing and the surrounding areas.
Ninety-three Romanians and their family members, from a list of 103 individuals, left the Gaza Strip. They were among those evacuated through the Rafah crossing point yesterday. The procedures took longer than initially estimated because people leaving the Gaza Strip go through two checkpoints: one Israeli and one Egyptian. Another list includes 51 more Romanians who will be evacuated today.
According to the MAE, the evacuated citizens are expected to reach Romania through special flights. Along with them, 36 citizens from the Republic of Moldova, who also left the Gaza Strip yesterday, are expected to board the plane. The youngest of the Romanians evacuated yesterday is only 2 months old, and the oldest turned 79 on January 1st. The list also includes two 9-month-old babies and one 6-month-old baby. Five children are one year old, and 17 of the evacuees are between 2 and 14 years old. Many are teenagers and young adults, with 31 of them being between 15 and 25 years old.
The Romanian Foreign Ministry emphasizes that “the security situation in the region remains complex and volatile, requiring constant adaptation of evacuation plans based on the on-ground factors to ensure the safety of the evacuated individuals is not compromised.”
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Luminița Odobescu, told Digi24 that the number of Romanians in Gaza requesting evacuation has increased, with the institution receiving over 300 requests. She mentioned that 10 Romanians out of the initial 103 on the first evacuation list did not show up at the border point. The Minister also noted that continuous efforts are being made for the unconditional release of all Romanian hostages held by Hamas.
Luminița Odobescu explained that the 93 Romanians who have already reached Egypt were assisted by mobile consular teams, including support for document processing. They will be flown to Romania today on special flights. The mobile consular team is at the border for the 51 Romanians on the new evacuation list. Regarding the 10 Romanians who were on the evacuation list of 103 people but did not make it to Cairo, the Minister stated that they did not appear at the border point.
“They (the 10 – ed.) remain on the evacuation list, and we will continue the process for the other Romanians. In the past days, after the evacuation procedures began, we received a significant number of additional requests, in addition to the initial 260; all are currently under evaluation. Now we are talking about a total of over 300 requests, including those already evacuated. We continue our efforts with our colleagues and international partners,” the FM said.