Hamas attacks: Ambassador Korniichuk confirms 18 Ukrainians killed in Israel

Ambassador of Ukraine to Israel Yevhen Korniichuk said this during the telethon.

He denied the information about the deaths of 23 Ukrainians and said that the country's Interior Ministry had confirmed the deaths of 18 Ukrainians.

"We have confirmed information about 18 dead, not 23. This information (about the death of 23 Ukrainians) is not true," Korniichuk said.

According to him, the situation in Gaza is getting even more complicated. Currently, the number of people to be evacuated is 308 Ukrainians.

"I think it may reach 400 in the next day or two. I hope that the evacuation will start," he added.

Yesterday, Israeli Ambassador to Ukraine Mikhail Brodsky reported 23 victims.

He noted that Ukraine ranks second in terms of the number of foreign citizens killed in the conflict.

"According to an updated report, 23 Ukrainian citizens were killed in the Hamas attack on Israel. This is the second highest number of foreigners killed in the attack after the United States," the statement says. 

Events in Israel: what is known about Ukrainians

On the morning of Saturday, October 7, 2023, the Palestinian armed groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad launched a massive air and land attack on the state of Israel in several places. The head of the Hamas military wing, Mohammed Deif, said that his militants had launched the Al-Aqsa Flood operation. According to him, these actions are intended to protect the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem.

The Palestinians launched 2,000 to 3,000 missiles at Israel and simultaneously seized 7 communities in the south.

In response, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) announced the mobilization of reservists and the launch of the Iron Swords counterterrorism operation. For the first time in 50 years, the government introduced martial law in the country. 

At that time, the spokesperson for the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry announced the creation of an operational headquarters to help Ukrainians in Israel. Ukraine's Ambassador to Israel Yevhen Korniychuk said that the embassy receives appeals from Ukrainian citizens from both the Israeli and Palestinian sides. 

On Saturday evening, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy reported that a Ukrainian citizen could have been killed in the hostilities in Israel. At the same time, it became known that the operational headquarters of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine had tracked down a Ukrainian who had disappeared in southern Israel the day before. At the same time, there were up to 200 Ukrainian citizens in the Gaza Strip.

On October 8, it was reported that two Ukrainian citizens had been killed in Israel. Diplomats took steps to repatriate their bodies.

A day later, diplomats evacuated a Ukrainian boy from the Israeli city of Sderot who had been injured in a militant attack. In particular, five citizens who were reported missing in southern Israel were found.

On October 10, diplomats tracked down seven more Ukrainian citizens in Israel. The Embassy also helped six families find temporary accommodation in Israel.

On the morning of October 11, Foreign Ministry spokesman Oleh Nikolenko reported the death of another Ukrainian in Israel. As of October 12, seven Ukrainians had been reported dead. 

As of October 13, eleven Ukrainian citizens were reported dead, and nine more were missing. Also, the Ambassador of Ukraine to Israel Yevhen Korniychuk said that the information that the Ukrainian citizens missing in Israel may be held captive by Hamas terrorists has not been confirmed.