93 Romanians who escaped Gaza fly to Bucharest

A group of 93 Romanian citizens landed Wednesday evening at an airbase near Romania's capital on a flight from Egypt after being evacuated from the Gaza Strip.

The specially chartered flight touched down at Base 90 at Bucharest's Otopeni Airport around 10.00 p.m. local time. The plane also brought back 36 Moldovan citizens, according to Romania's foreign ministry.

Romania's Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu had flown to Egypt earlier on Wednesday to meet the evacuees and returned with them on the flight to Romania.

“I was overwhelmed to see the joy and hope in the eyes of the children who escaped the hell in Gaza,” Ciolacu wrote on Facebook after arriving in Egypt. “The Romanian Government will continue to act to facilitate the evacuations by all the means at our disposal.” Another 51 Romanians have also been granted permission to leave Gaza into Egypt through the Rafah border crossing, the foreign ministry said, but did not specify when.

Six Romanians who hold dual Romanian-Israeli citizenship are among the hostages held by Hamas. Since Hamas launched its attack on Israel on Oct. 7, at least five Romanian citizens have been confirmed killed. (AP)