(Adds details on evacuees, rescue plane, background in paras 3-9)

EREZ (Gaza), June 20 (RIA Novosti) - The first group of Russians evacuated from the volatile Gaza Strip, controlled by radical Islamist group Hamas, has reached Israel, a Russian Embassy spokesman said.

The first to step onto Israeli soil was a family of four, including two twin sisters, he said. Most of the Russian nationals are women and children.

A group of 40-45 Russians boarded a bus near the Erez checkpoint at the northern end of the violence-torn enclave, and are moving toward Israel, out of the total of 80 Russians at the crossing, a RIA Novosti correspondent reported from the site.

There are also Belarusians, Moldovans and Kazakhs in the bus with the Russians. The Belarusian ambassador to Israel said eight Belarusian nationals are leaving the Gaza Strip together with the Russians.

Gaza has been fully controlled by Hamas since last week's fighting with the pro-presidential Fatah movement, which left at least 100 people dead.

Local medics have warned of a severe humanitarian situation if the hundreds of people stranded at the checkpoint, with little food and no sanitary facilities, are not admitted through the border. Many are reportedly in need of urgent medical aid.

A total of 157 Russians applied for evacuation. Tel Aviv agreed to open the Erez checkpoint, closed last week to prevent spillover of violence, to let civilians leave the area. The evacuees will be transported to Jordan's capital Amman by bus and then flown home. Russian diplomats have said they hope to complete the evacuation by the end of the day.

The Russian ambassador in Israel told journalists earlier that a Russian Emergency Situations Ministry plane would leave Russia at 2 a.m. GMT Thursday, and fly to Jordan to collect the Russians.

"We hope that by tomorrow afternoon, the plane will take off on its return journey to Moscow," Pyotr Stegny said.