MOSCOW, December 30 (RIA Novosti) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice spoke by phone on Tuesday, calling for an end to the violence in the Gaza Strip, the Russian Foreign Ministry said.
"The situation in the Gaza Strip regarding Israel's large-scale military operation there was discussed. The sides called for an immediate stop to the violence and the restoration of a state of calm," the ministry said, adding that they also urged the two sides to continue negotiations on a settlement.
A Palestinian emergencies official said Tuesday at least 13 Palestinians were killed and 40 wounded overnight as Israel continued to carry out airstrikes on Gaza overnight bringing the death toll to 363.
Some 1,750 Palestinians have also been injured in the four-day offensive, which Israel launched on Saturday in what it called "an all-out war" against Hamas in response to militant rocket attacks on southern border towns from Gaza.
Meanwhile a spokesman for the Russian Embassy in Israel said citizens of Russia as well as citizens of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) may be evacuated from Gaza by the end of this week.
"We have no exact date at the moment. The evacuation will take place as soon as we work out a scheme and resolve all the procedural issues," Anastasia Fyodorova said.
She added that the list of those wishing to leave Gaza was increasing by the hour and had passed 100 people, from countries including Russia, Belarus, Moldova and Kazakhstan.
Eyewitnesses said Israel launched at least 50 airstrikes on the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, targeting government buildings, including the prime minister's office, the interior, defense and finance ministries, as well as schools and the Islamic University, which is viewed as an "ideological cradle" for Islamists.
In response to the Israeli airstrikes, Palestinian militants have launched over 80 rockets and mortar shells on southern Israel, killing four people and injuring more than 35 others, some of them seriously.
