The United States is negotiating with Israel and Egypt to open the Rafah border crossing to foreigners, particularly Americans, seeking to leave the Gaza Strip, a senior American official said on Friday.
“This is what we are discussing with Israel and we continue to discuss with Egypt,” said this official, who was traveling with Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, who is on a regional trip.
According to him, this is “the opening of the Rafah crossing to American citizens and other foreign countries who want or need to leave the Gaza Strip,” which is constantly bombed by Israel in retaliation for a bloody attack by the Palestinian Hamas.
Washington is aware that the evacuation of Gaza is a complex operation.
“It is a major challenge,” a White House spokesman commented on Friday after Israel ordered the evacuation of “all civilians” from Gaza City to the south, a move openly condemned by the United Nations.
The Israelis are “trying to keep civilians away from danger and give them adequate warning,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told CNN, adding: “It’s a big challenge.” It’s a million people and a very urban and dense one Vicinity.
“It is already a combat zone (…). But it is clear that (Israeli authorities) are trying to avoid civilian casualties as much as possible and also to separate Hamas from the human shields.”