Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Mariya Gabriel: Bulgarian citizens and their family members evacuated from Gaza are already in Bulgaria
04 November 2023 News
"A total of 30 of the 36 Bulgarian citizens and their family members who were successfully evacuated with the first possible group from Gaza to Egypt are already in Bulgaria. Six of them have stayed in Cairo with relatives of their own accord", Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mariya Gabriel said.
The first flight from Cairo to Sofia via Athens on 3 November was a family of three.
Today the remaining Bulgarian citizens and their family members landed successfully in two groups - 18 people on the flight from Rome and 9 on the flight from Istanbul.
"In less than 48 hours the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, our diplomatic missions in Cairo, Ramallah and Tel Aviv, the consular offices in Athens, Istanbul and Rome and the Situation Centre Directorate in full mobilisation and with coordinated efforts managed to organise the smooth transportation of our compatriots and their families to Bulgaria," Deputy Prime Minister Gabriel said.
"From their removal from Gaza to their successful return to the country, the MFA teams were committed to providing full assistance and support to the Bulgarian citizens and their families. Bulgaria was among the first countries to successfully carry out the removal and reintegration of its citizens and their family members. I express my gratitude to all parties involved in the process and to the staff of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs", Mariya Gabriel added.