Second flight in two days brings home Russians evacuated from Gaza

GAZA (Reuters): A special aircraft brought home to Moscow 105 Russian nationals evacuated from Gaza, Russia’s emergencies ministry said early on Saturday, the second such flight in as many days.

In a post on Telegram, the ministry said the group, including 55 children, flew home aboard a chartered Ilyushin-76 aircraft. A similar flight arriving a day earlier brought home 101 Russian nationals.

The latest ministry post said more than 760 evacuees had been been brought back to Russia, including more than 360 children.

The Kremlin on Wednesday hailed a cease-fire agreement in Gaza, going into effect on Friday, as the “first good news for a long time” in the Israel-Palestinian conflict. It said humanitarian pauses were the only way to build efforts for a sustainable settlement.