Death of 13 Ukrainians in Israel confirmed, 436 citizens evacuated - Zelenska in conversation with First Lady

As of October 17, the death of 13 Ukrainian citizens in Israel was confirmed as a result of an attack by the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas, 436 Ukrainians were evacuated. First Lady Olena Zelenska announced this in a telephone conversation with First Lady of Israel Michal Herzog, Ukrainian News reports.

Zelenska, in a telephone conversation with the First Lady of Israel, expressed condolences to the victims of the Hamas terrorist attack.

"We feel your pain, the pain of every family in Israel. Ukrainians in all corners of our state express support for the people of Israel, and I want to convey this to you. Our military recorded a video in support of the Israeli people. These and many other manifestations of solidarity confirm how close our peoples are both in joy and grief," Zelenska said.

She noted that as of October 17, the death of 13 citizens of Ukraine was confirmed (the identification of bodies continues, the data changes daily); a boy, whose mother was killed by terrorists, was wounded, the child is receiving medical and psychological assistance; 436 Ukrainian citizens were evacuated.

The First Lady of Ukraine stressed that terrorism knows no borders, so it is even more important that the countries that oppose this act together.

She noted that Ukraine has consistently advocated peace in the Middle East for all peoples.

As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, the Ukrainian Embassy in Israel said that on October 16, a second evacuation plane with 155 Ukrainians on board flew from Israel.

The first evacuation flight with 207 Ukrainian citizens on board took off from Tel Aviv to Bucharest, Romania, on Saturday, October 14.

On October 12, a spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Oleh Nikolenko said that the death toll of Ukrainians in Israel increased to seven people, nine Ukrainians suffered injuries of varying severity, and nine more Ukrainians are missing. More than a thousand Ukrainian citizens sought help leaving Israel due to canceled flights.

The Times of Israel reported that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s visit to Israel did not take place. Although this was talked about after the Hamas attack, the Ukrainian delegation was refused in Israel, explaining that it was not time for this.