MOSCOW. Nov 29 (Interfax) - Russia welcomes the decision to extend the humanitarian truce in Gaza and hopes that it may lay the groundwork for a long-term de-escalation in the region, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said.
"We welcome the sides' decision to prolong the humanitarian pause. We expect the productive dialogue to continue between them in the interests of ensuring a further de-escalation of the situation and making it a long-term and sustainable process," Zakharova said at a press briefing on Wednesday.
"We highly assess the efficient mediation efforts of Qatar and Egypt, and we said immediately that this important compromise has become possible largely thanks to their efficient work," she said.
"We, for our part, are continuing efforts aimed at improving the humanitarian situation in Gaza, which remains extremely challenging," Zakharova said.
Moscow "has been working to ensure the soonest safe evacuation of citizens of Russia and Palestinians, family members of our citizens from the Gaza Strip," she said.
"In all, of the nearly 1,000, or even more than 1,000 people who applied [for evacuation], 762 have been transported to Egypt via the Rafah border crossing," she said.
Israel and Hamas initially announced a four-day truce, from November 24 to November 27. Tuesday was the fifth day of the Hamas-Israel truce. Under the agreements, the pause can be extended by a day for each additional group of ten hostages released by the Palestinian movement.
The humanitarian pause was then prolonged for two more days. Under the deal with Hamas approved by the Israeli cabinet, it is capped at a maximum of ten days, during which Israel will release 300 prisoners.
According to Israeli media, 50 Israelis and 150 Palestinians have been freed since last Friday, when the truce entered into force, which is in line with the terms of the initial agreement.