Hundreds of foreign passport holders and wounded people stranded in Gaza began leaving the war-torn territory on Wednesday as the Rafah border crossing into Egypt opened to them for the first time since Hamas attacks on Israel on October 7. The Hamas-controlled Interior Ministry in Gaza has published a list of foreign passport holders who can leave Gaza through the Rafah border crossing.
At least five NGO workers confirmed to be Americans are cleared for Wednesday’s crossing, but it remains to be seen how many of the at least 400 American citizens stuck in the Gaza Strip, according to the U.S. State Department can cross in the coming days.
An American woman trapped in Gaza told CBS News that she doesn’t expect to cross yet.
Hundreds of people began lining up to enter the customs area at the Rafah border crossing into Egypt on November 1, as foreigners left war-torn Gaza for the first time since Hamas attacks on Israel on October 7. Portal
“They started letting foreigners out today, but they’re not Americans because I guess we’re not as important as we thought,” Susan Beseiso of Utah told CBS News on Wednesday.
“The American Embassy and the State Department have not called us since we were last at the border and were bombed four times. They didn’t communicate with us or do anything to get us out,” Beseiso said.
“It’s like they’re holding us hostage – it’s not Hamas holding us hostage – it’s the IDF soldiers, Egypt and America. They are using us as a human shield in a way.”
Footage showed the gate of the crossing on the Palestinian side of the border being opened on Wednesday morning as people began crossing into Egypt for the first time since the war began. Convoys with urgently needed aid have previously been traveling between Egypt and Gaza, but so far no people have been allowed to pass through the Rafah border crossing.
About 545 foreigners and dual nationals, as well as dozens of sick and wounded people, were expected to leave.
After they were allowed to enter the terminal area, huge queues of people waiting formed around the checkpoints for passports and other documents.
The first ambulances transporting wounded Palestinians from the war-torn Gaza Strip entered Egypt through the Rafah border crossing on Wednesday, an Egyptian official said on condition of anonymity.
CBS News producer Marwan Al Ghoul reported on Tuesday that at least 81 people will be among those crossing who the Egyptian government is sending in ambulances from Rafah to Arish for medical treatment.
On November 1, 2023, ambulances began traveling from the Gaza Strip to Egypt through the Rafah border crossing, according to Portal
The area around the Rafah border crossing terminal was hit by Israeli airstrikes following the Hamas attacks, which Israeli authorities said killed 1,400 people, mostly civilians. Another 240 people were taken hostage.
Some of those being taken to Egyptian hospitals for treatment are among more than 15,000 injured in Israeli retaliatory attacks in the Gaza Strip, according to the Hamas-controlled health ministry, which the ministry said killed more than 8,500 people, two-thirds of them women children.
Meanwhile, internet watchdog Netblocks and major Palestinian operator Paltel said in social media posts on Wednesday that there was another internet outage across the Gaza Strip.
When Israel announced an expansion of its ground operations last week, Gaza experienced a 48-hour communications blackout. Telecommunications had been restored on Monday before this latest power outage, Paltel had said.
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