Only Palestinians with foreign passports allowed to leave Gaza: WSJ
3 Min Read
Some aid workers are also part of the deal, leaving behind over two million Palestinians who live in Gaza and are prevented from crossing into safety.
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Palestinians cross into Egypt through the Rafah border crossing in the southern Gaza Strip, on November 15, 2021. (AFP)
According to a Wall Street Journal report on Monday, the US, alongside Egypt and "Israel", will only allow Palestinians with passports of Western states to pass through the Rafah checkpoint, leaving most Gazans behind.
The trio have been discussing and working up an agreement to open the border for several days, as per the report, which added that only Palestinians with US or other Western passports would be allowed to leave.
Some aid workers are also part of the deal, leaving behind over two million Palestinians who live in Gaza and are prevented from crossing into safety in Egypt.
The WSJ also stated that Egypt should provide humanitarian aid to a collection point near the Rafah border.
Read more: Israeli occupation massacres Rafah residents amid heavy Gaza bombing
The only non-Israeli entrance into and out of Gaza has been blocked since Tuesday, following three Israeli airstrikes on the Palestinian border station within 24 hours.
This comes as an American official confirmed to AFP on Saturday that Egypt and "Israel" have achieved an arrangement allowing Americans to depart Gaza via Rafah.
However, Egyptian officials said they refuse that the crossing be "designated for only foreigners to cross," according to Egyptian media.
False alarms
Today, Hamas political bureau member Izzat al-Risheq denied reports originating from both Israeli and Western outlets regarding an alleged temporary ceasefire or the reopening of the Rafah border crossing.
Al-Risheq urged the media to rely exclusively on official sources within the Resistance and the governmental work committee in Gaza, while the Israeli occupation's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office dismissed reports of a humanitarian ceasefire, stating, "There is no humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza."
Aid from Jordan, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates had already arrived at el-Arish airport, 50 kilometers (31 miles) west of Rafah, along with healthcare equipment from the World Health Organization enough for 300,000 people.
Israeli Energy Minister Israel Katz pledged on Friday that no electricity, water, or fuel would enter Gaza until captives are returned home.
According to a statement from his spokesperson, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi presided over a national security council meeting on the "military escalation in Gaza" on Sunday, in which his government pushed for diplomatic efforts with allies and humanitarian groups to "deescalate" the violence and deliver the necessary aid.
![In a 2021 interview with Frontline by former US special representative James Jeffrey, he says he had "engaged with [HTS] via backchannels while serving in President Trump’s State Department. (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Batoul Chamas)](https://alpha-en-media.almayadeen.net/media/image/2024/12/21/b4a69f2e-8682-43e4-9d37-49482b304ab3/3.png?v=2&format=webp "In a 2021 interview with Frontline by former US special representative James Jeffrey, he says he had \"engaged with [HTS] via backchannels while serving in President Trump’s State Department. (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Batoul Chamas)")
