Russia's children's ombudswoman says no request received for assistance in evacuating children from Gaza

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW (AA) - Russia's children's ombudswoman Maria Lvova-Belova on Monday said her office had not received any requests for assistance on evacuating children from the Gaza Strip, but offered help if needed.

"To date, we have not received any request to assist in the evacuation of children from the Gaza Strip," she told a news conference in Moscow.

The child rights commissioner refused to comment on the current situation in the besieged Palestinian enclave, saying it was not her area of expertise.

"At the beginning of my work, I decided for myself that politics should be beyond humanitarian aid to children," she said. "If our help is needed, we will definitely provide it, as we do in other countries, especially if the situation is as it is now in Gaza."

Israeli has continued bombardment and blockade of Gaza since the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on its territory.

- 34 children evacuated from Euphrates river area in Syria

Lvova-Belova said 34 children were evacuated and brought back home from refugee camps in Syria on Sunday.

"Just yesterday (Sunday, Oct.15), the plane on which we brought 34 children from Syria to Russia landed, my staff worked in the most difficult conditions, these children were in refugee camps in the Euphrates river area and after a medical examination in a federal clinic and rehabilitation, they will reunite with their relatives in Russia, who are very much waiting for them," she said.

She noted that Russia has been conducting the work on repatriation of children from Iraq and Syria since 2012, and a total of 513 children returned home since then.

"We will definitely continue this work, at the moment we have documents for 150 children, and we regularly receive more and more requests from parents, relatives of children who are looking for their kids, grandchildren in the Euphrates area," she said.

- Cooperation with Africa

The Russian children's ombudswoman also talked about her office's cooperation with African countries, a new project.

"With the approval of the president and the blessing of Patriarch Kirill, we are implementing humanitarian projects on the African continent, primarily in the field of children's healthcare and education," she said.

Lvova-Belova said work on a joint initiative with Russian Orthodox Church is underway to open humanitarian centers in Africa at parishes where children and families with children will be able to receive water, food, medicines and clothes.

"This is a new milestone in the work of our establishment, we discussed the details of this cooperation in detail on our humanitarian platform within the framework of the Russia-Africa summit," she said.

There are also plans to open orphanages and children courses on mathematics, computer, reading and writing, she said, noting that four initiatives, three in Kenya, and one in the Democratic Republic of Congo, have already been launched.