Ambassador of Ukraine sends a note of protest to Israel over the withdrawal of the evacuation permit from Gaza

Ukraine's Ambassador to Israel, Yevhen Korniichuk, has sent an official note of protest to Israel over the withdrawal of the evacuation permit for foreign citizens from the Gaza Strip.

This was reported by the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights Dmytro Lubinets. 

On October 14, from 12:00 to 17:00, an evacuation corridor was to be opened through the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip.

"Two hours before the evacuation, the Israeli Foreign Ministry inexplicably announced that they could not guarantee security and were withdrawing the permit," said Dmytro Lubinets.

The Ombudsman arrived in Cairo to help set up a mechanism for the evacuation of Ukrainian citizens from the Gaza Strip. Currently, there are 243 Ukrainian citizens who need to be evacuated.

Lubinets says that representatives of other countries have also handed over or are planning to hand over notes of protest to Israel.

The Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) reported that the Hamas group was preventing the safe passage of residents of the Gaza Strip to the south.

At the same time, the IDF is preparing to "implement a wide range of operational plans for the offensive" and "expand the battlefield".

The offensive plans may include "combined and coordinated air, sea and ground attacks".

"IDF battalions and soldiers are deployed throughout the country and are increasing their operational readiness for the next stages of the war, with a focus on important ground operations," the IDF press service wrote.