Nine Romanian citizens evacuated from Gaza Strip amid Israeli “conquest” campaign

Nine people, all Romanian citizens, together with their family members, were evacuated on Tuesday, May 6, from the Gaza Strip and are now in Jordan, from where they will be brought to Romania with an aircraft of the Romanian Air Force.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the evacuation involved the Romanian Embassies in Tel Aviv and Amman, and the Romanian Representative Office in Ramallah.

"The citizens were taken over by a mobile consular team of the MAE and arrived on the territory of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, from where they will be repatriated via a military flight carried out with an aircraft of the Romanian Air Force. The MAE takes this opportunity to thank its international and national partners for the support provided during the evacuation and repatriation operation," the statement further mentions.

The evacuation took place after the Israeli government announced a new military campaign in the Gaza Strip aimed at the "conquest" of the territory.

“One thing will be clear: there will be no in-and-out,” Netanyahu said in a Monday video message posted on X. “We’ll call up reserves to come, hold territory — we’re not going to enter and then exit the area, only to carry out raids afterward. That’s not the plan. The intention is the opposite.” Hostage families were quick to condemn the announcement of the expansion of the war, fearing that the Israeli government is prioritizing the defeat of Hamas over securing a deal to return Israeli hostages, according to CNN.

The Gaza Strip, whose residents have already been almost entirely displaced since the start of the war on October 7, 2023, has been under a strict blockade by Israel since March 2 and is facing a severe humanitarian crisis, according to AFP.

(Photo source: nsbeer | Dreamstime.com)