Dozens of people injured in Israeli bombings and people with foreign passports were evacuated from the Gaza Strip this Wednesday through the Rafah crossing on the border with Egypt.
Gaza’s Interior Ministry confirmed on Wednesday that it has approved the departure of foreigners of various nationalities from the Gaza Strip, under the control of the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas.
The ministry-dependent Gaza General Agency for Border Crossings announced that in a statement on its Facebook page at 7 a.m. local time, it has called on foreign passport holders in Gaza to reach Egypt via the Rafa Land Pass.
He published a list of about 500 people, including Palestinians with foreign passports and citizens of other countries with nationalities such as: Japanese, Austrian and Bulgarian, as well as employees of international organizations such as Doctors Without Borders in Spain and France.
The list does not indicate who has a US passport. Although this is one of the most numerous groups in the Gaza Strip, many of the people on this list are described as Palestinians with other passports or as ‘internationals’.
Moreover, the Egyptian television channels ExtraNews and CairoNews confirmed this withdrawal of the “first group of Palestinians with dual nationality” from Gaza. Sources at the Rafah border crossing told the EFE agency that this group is “finalizing the procedures that will allow them to remain on Egyptian territory.”
Egypt, which categorically rejects the resettlement of Palestinian refugees in Egypt’s Sinai, has repeatedly accused Israel of imposing restrictions before humanitarian aid arrives in Gaza and the withdrawal of foreigners from the enclave.
Egyptian authorities have also repeatedly demonstrated their confident willingness to allow foreigners of different nationalities to cross the border, as long as they travel to their respective countries.
The departure of people with foreign passports coincided with today’s arrival in the Palestinian side of Rafah, the only entry and exit from the besieged Palestinian territory not in Israeli hands. Dozens of Egyptian ambulances are transporting people “severely injured” by the Israeli bombardment of the enclave to be treated in Egyptian hospitals.
This came a day after it was reported that Egypt would allow the evacuation of more than 80 Palestinians in critical condition.
About 150 ambulances were mobilized on the Egyptian side of the border crossing for hours before taking part in the evacuations. This prompted the governor of North Sinai province, Mohamed Shosha, to put hospitals in the region on standby to receive the injured once they were evacuated. .
Sosha further explained that there is a 50-bed field hospital in the city of Sheikh Zueid, west of Rafah, while authorities have designated three reception points for those accompanying the injured, as reported by Egyptian newspaper Al Ahram.
So far, the pass has only been opened on a few specific occasions to allow in convoys of humanitarian aid.
Hamas attacks on October 7 killed nearly 1,400 people and kidnapped more than 230, while authorities in the Gaza Strip, controlled by Islamist groups, reported the deaths of more than 8,500 people as a result of Israeli bombardments. in security force operations and attacks on settlers in the West Bank.
(With information from EFE and Europa Press)
Source: La Neta Neta
Karen Clayton is a seasoned journalist and author at The Nation Update, with a focus on world news and current events. She has a background in international relations, which gives her a deep understanding of the political, economic and social factors that shape the global landscape. She writes about a wide range of topics, including conflicts, political upheavals, and economic trends, as well as humanitarian crisis and human rights issues.
