On Friday, nearly 100 British citizens have been authorized for departure from Gaza and entry into Egypt. The approved foreign national list administered by the Palestinian border authority features 127 names in its UK section, with 92 listed as British citizens. The other 35 names are primarily Palestinian nationals with one Irish dependent and one Moroccan woman. Approximately 200 British nationals are believed to be in Gaza.
It is presently unknown if the Rafah border crossing will be open on Friday. However, on Wednesday, some foreign nationals and injured Palestinian people were permitted to depart Gaza through the crossing into Egypt for the first time. A minor number of British nationals have already left in the initial batches of hundreds of foreign citizens departing Gaza this week.
Border crossings in and out of Gaza have been closed since October 7th, when Hamas attacked Israel, killing more than 1,400 people and taking more than 240 hostage. Since the attack, the Israeli military has launched a massive bombing campaign on Gaza, placed the strip under a “complete siege,” and recently launched a ground assault on the north of Gaza. According to the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza, more than 9,000 people have been killed.
Liverpool surgeon Abdel Hammad’s family stated that he was among the people who were able to leave Gaza via the Rafah crossing into Egypt on Thursday. Security Minister Tom Tugendhat stated that the British government is being cautious about providing the exact number of people who will be able to leave because “we neither control the border, nor do we control what’s going on inside Gaza.” As a result, “what we don’t want to do is give false hope or false belief to individuals that they’ll be able to cross today.”
The list of people who have received permission to leave Gaza as soon as possible, as approved by the Egyptian and Israeli governments, includes British citizens, dependent or entitled people, according to Mr. Tugendhat
Read the full article from The BBC here: Read More