Gaza: what is known about the first evacuations of the wounded and foreigners, including 5 French, to Egypt

They managed to escape from the Gaza trap. Several dozen wounded Palestinians and several hundred foreigners or dual citizens stranded in the Gaza Strip since the start of the war between Hamas and Israel were evacuated to Egypt this Wednesday in an operation through the Rafah terminal (south of the enclave).

Who are the evacuees?

“At 16:30 (13:30 Paris time), 76 wounded Palestinians on board ambulances and 335 people with international passports crossed the border on six buses,” an Egyptian official said.

The Quai d’Orsay said five French nationals were among the evacuated foreigners, adding that they were currently being cared for by staff at the French Embassy in Cairo, Egypt.

Joe Biden also said that American citizens were among those evacuated this Wednesday, without specifying the number, but adding that he “expects more departures in the coming days.”

Other foreigners who left Gaza also included four Italians, Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani told X earlier on Twitter.

How many people are left to evacuate?

Officials at the Palestinian and Egyptian terminals initially indicated that about 90 Palestinians and about 545 dual citizens and foreigners were expected to be wounded on Wednesday. “The Rafah terminal will reopen on Thursday to allow more foreigners and dual nationals to pass through,” an Egyptian security source said.

According to foreign offices, there are citizens of 44 countries and 28 foreign agencies, organizations or NGOs in the Gaza Strip, where 2.4 million residents are now forced to survive under bombs, without water, without electricity and almost without food due to a “total blockade” imposed. . Israel after 16 years of siege.

The Quai d’Orsay said it was continuing its efforts “to ensure that all our compatriots, our agents and their families who wish, can leave Gaza as soon as possible”, adding that this concerns about fifty French citizens and their families.

On Tuesday before the US Congress, Secretary of State Antony Blinken estimated that “about 1,000” US citizens and their relatives were trying to evacuate the Gaza Strip: 400 had US citizenship and the rest were relatives who did not. . “We continue to work to rescue all the remaining” Italian citizens stuck in Gaza, Rome assured.

How could this first evacuation happen?

The operation took place at the Rafah border crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt, the only crossing point operated by Egyptian authorities rather than Israel.

Palestinian authorities in charge of the borders in the Gaza Strip said Tuesday evening that they had been informed by Egypt that “81 of the most seriously injured” could return to Egyptian soil the next day “for treatment in Egyptian hospitals.” A 1,300 m2 field hospital was opened in Sheikh Zueida, approximately ten kilometers west of Rafah.

“The first group of people with foreign passports will cross the Rafah terminal towards Egypt on Wednesday,” an Egyptian official said earlier on Wednesday.

The American president assured that it was thanks to the “leading role” of the United States that “wounded Palestinians and foreign citizens” were able to leave the enclave, fleeing the war between Israel and Hamas.