400 US citizens to depart Gaza for Egypt on Thursday: Authority

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
2 Nov 2023 16:58

An official list containing 400 US citizens has been released by Gaza's authority.

Palestinians with dual citizenship walk through a gate to enter the Rafah border crossing to Egypt in the southern Gaza Strip on November 1, 2023. (AFP)

The Gaza Strip's border crossing and administration announced that approximately 400 US citizens will have the opportunity to depart for Egypt through the Rafah checkpoint on Thursday.

An official list containing 400 US citizens has been released by the authority.

According to information from US officials, CNN reported, on Wednesday, that as many as 5,000 to 7,000 foreign nationals may have the opportunity to depart from the Gaza Strip as part of the agreement brokered by Qatar in response to the escalating situation.

This comes as part of a deal that Qatar, in coordination with the US, has brokered between Egypt, "Israel", and Hamas.

#Watch | Ambulances pass into the #Gaza Strip through the Rafah Crossing to transport 81 critically injured individuals to #Egyptian hospitals in el-Arish. pic.twitter.com/ihDkCrlbxM
— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) November 1, 2023

The purpose of this agreement is to facilitate the movement of foreign passport holders and critically injured individuals out of the besieged Gaza Strip through the Egyptian-controlled Rafah crossing, an informed source told Reuters.

Not linked to other ongoing talks

There was no specific timeframe mentioned regarding how long the Rafah crossing would remain open for evacuation, leaving this aspect subject to further negotiation and discussions.

Importantly, this particular agreement is not directly linked to other ongoing negotiations, including those regarding Israeli captives held in Gaza. Additionally, it does not address the broader severe humanitarian crisis in the enclave. Gaza has been grappling with severe shortages of essential resources such as food, water, fuel, and medical supplies.

Later, an Egyptian security source said after the deal that up to 500 foreign passport holders would pass through the Rafah border on Wednesday.

Qatar says negotiations 'very, very difficult' amid escalations

Last week, senior negotiator and Qatar's Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Mohammed bin Abdulaziz Al-Khulaifi said that Qatar undertook a "very, very difficult negotiation" between Hamas and "Israel".ver

"It's a very, very difficult negotiation that we've been dealing with," the top Qatari diplomat told Sky News, before adding that the Palestinian Resistance and the Israeli Occupation have "zero confidence in each other."

Al-Khulaifi also added that "the violence increases every day and with the bombing continuous every day, our task has become even more difficult," stressing that "If the mediator wants to perform its task in the best way possible as a state, then we need to reach a period of calm."

The Qatari diplomat also emphasized that "any escalation whatsoever is going to make our job really harder. Any escalation whatsoever. So we're trying to send those messages to our partners and friends," reaffirming that "We need to reach a period where we can speak logically to both sides and come up with positive initiatives."