At least four Russian citizens are missing following the Hamas Islamist group’s surprise weekend attack on Israel, Russia’s Embassy in Tel Aviv said Monday.
The embassy said there was still no word on whether Russians were among the 800 people who died during the ground, air and sea attacks that caught Israel by surprise on Saturday. Another 500 Palestinians were killed in retaliatory Israeli strikes.
The relatives of nine Russian citizens living in or visiting Israel have asked the Russian embassy for assistance in finding them, according to Russia’s state-run news agency TASS.
“Four of them are listed as missing by the Israeli side,” embassy spokeswoman Marina Ryazanova told TASS.
“We continue to work around the clock with incoming appeals and calls,” Ryazanova added.
One of those reportedly missing is 27-year-old Andrei Kozlov, who worked as a security guard at a desert music festival where Hamas fighters killed at least 260 attendees.
Kozlov’s Israeli aunt, Anna Yampolski, told the independent Mozhem Obyasnit news outlet that she is reluctant to seek help from the Russian authorities to find her nephew.
“I’m sorry, but I don’t trust the Russian authorities these days. By and large, there’s little difference between them and Hamas,” the aunt was quoted as saying.
Hamas has captured more than 100 hostages since launching its attack on Saturday.
Citizens and dual nationals from over a dozen countries have been reported killed, abducted or missing since the assault.
Qatar is currently in talks with Hamas and Israel to exchange the hostages for Palestinian women and children held in Israeli jails, Reuters reported.
Russia’s Ambassador to Israel said Monday that Russia was ready to organize emergency flights out of Israel for its citizens amid ongoing rocket attacks across the country.
AFP contributed reporting.
