(Communicated by the Ministry of Defense - Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories)
At the request of the governments of Russia, Belarus, Moldova, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Norway, Turkey, and the United States 230 nationals and dual nationals evacuated the Gaza Strip today. The evacuation took place from Erez Terminal at the request of the governments. The evacuees were escorted by the defense officials and embassy staff to the Allenby bridge from there they will proceed to their home countries.
The Defense Ministry has worked closely with the relevant authorities in order to implement the various governments' requests. Similar preparations are being made for other nationals that have requested evacuation
Also, additional humanitarian aid was transferred today to the Gaza Strip via Kerem Shalom cargo terminal. 64 trucks loaded with humanitarian aid including medical supplies, basic food commodities and medication. The shipment included 1530 tones of aid. The shipment included a large donation of 11,000 food parcels on behalf of the government of Turkey.
Throughout the humanitarian effort, since 28 December 2008, over 9000 tons of aid has been shipped to Gaza with coordination between Israel, the Palestinian Authority, the International Organizations and various donors.
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On Friday, Jan. 2, 2009, 226 Palestinian foreign nationals crossed into Israel from the Gaza Strip via the Erez Terminal. The Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), in conjunction with the IDF, organized and evacuated the Gaza residents at the request of the governments with whom the foreign nationals hold citizenship or dual citizenship (Russia, Belarus, Moldova, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Norway, Turkey, and the United States). The Gaza residents were escorted by Israeli defense officials and embassy staff to the Allenby Bridge at the Israel-Jordan border, and from there they proceeded to their home countries. Similar preparations are being made for other nationals who have requested evacuation.
"What we are doing here is securing the movement together with the Ministry of Defense and the IDF," said Peter Lerner, the COGAT Spokesperson. "Our role is coordinating with the various embassies, making sure the people can leave in a safe and secure way, and in making sure that all of the arrangements are made so that they reach home."
UNRWA Commissioner-General, Karen Abu-Zaid, at Erez Terminal during the evacuation, commended the IDF and COGAT's humanitarian efforts, saying, "They deserve a lot of thanks from us… We are getting very good coordination through COGAT and all the people in that team."
After exiting the terminal into Israel, Caroline Katba, a 15-year-old Russian national, said she was happy to have had safely arrived in Israel, knowing now that it is only a matter of time before she is in Russia. In describing the evacuation and her contact with IDF soldiers Caroline said, "The treatment was very good. The transport went extremely well. We didn't have any problems. Everybody was helping us with the baggage, with my brother, my sister. Everybody helped us."
Looking back on the situation in Gaza, Marina Avad, a Russia national, gravely commented on the political atmosphere, saying, "Hamas don't speak peace. Hamas no speak about peace with Israel."