"The plane took off at 9.20 a.m. Moscow time [5.20 a.m. GMT]," the ministry said. "It will evacuate about 70 people."
Israel launched a military operation in Lebanon after the Hizbollah Islamist group took two Israeli soldiers hostage last Wednesday and conducted air strikes against its infrastructure. Over 100 Lebanese civilians have since been killed in fighting and more than 200 have been wounded.
Israeli aircraft have also being bombed the Gaza Strip officially seeking the release of an Israeli soldier abducted by Palestinian radicals June 25.
Israel has also been shelled from Lebanon's southern territories controlled by Hizbollah and from Palestinian lands. At least eight Israelis were killed and 17 wounded Sunday, bringing the civilian death toll to 13 people.
Citizens of Russia and post-Soviet Commonwealth of Independent States countries will be evacuated from the Palestinian Authority to Lebanon by bus. Women and children will be evacuated first. The date of their departure from Lebanon has not been fixed yet.
