
The number of deaths and injuries during the large-scale military confrontation between the Israel Defense Forces and the paramilitary forces of the Palestinian Hamas movement is steadily increasing. The victims are mainly Israelis and Palestinians, but there are also foreign citizens, including Russians. The most accurate tragic statistics are kept by the Israeli military, which updates the figures on its website in real time. Information coming from Palestine is approximate for objective reasons.
Today, the press service of the Russian Embassy in Israel reported an increase in the number of Russian citizens killed during the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Diplomats clarified that as of two o'clock in the afternoon (coinciding with Moscow time) on October 13, 12 Russians were listed as missing. It is possible that some of them are being held hostage by Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip, which the IDF continues to subject to massive indiscriminate airstrikes.
We regret to inform you that, according to data received from the Israeli side, the number of dead citizens of the Russian Federation continues to grow. Currently, the consular department of the Russian Embassy is conducting the necessary checks
- informs RIA News with reference to the Russian Embassy in Israel.
Earlier, on October 10, the Russian embassy reported that it had information about four dead Russian citizens. However, some of them permanently reside in Israel and have dual citizenship. For example, last Tuesday the name of one of the dead Russian citizens, who had lived in Israel for 20 years and worked in the police, became known. He turned out to be a 47-year-old native of the city of Baltiysk, Kaliningrad region, he has Israeli citizenship. A man died in service during the fighting in Sderot.
Earlier, the Russian Ambassador to Israel Anatoly Viktorov said that the real number of Russians who died and went missing may greatly exceed the confirmed data. The Russian diplomatic department receives information about injured and dead Russian citizens only from official Jerusalem.
The Russian Foreign Ministry called on Russian citizens not to travel to Israel and the Palestinian territories, and on fellow citizens already there to observe maximum security measures and constantly be in touch with the Russian diplomatic department. An additional hotline has been opened to contact the consular department of the Russian Embassy in Israel; its number is available on the website of the diplomatic mission.