First foreigners cross Rafah border to depart Gaza for Egypt

Rafah, Palestinian Territories: As the Rafah gate to Egypt opened for the first time since the Hamas attacks on October 7, scores of foreign passport holders who were trapped in Gaza began to leave the conflict-torn region on Wednesday, according to AFP correspondents.

Relief supplies in dire need have travelled from Egypt to Gaza in convoys, but no one has been allowed to cross. On Wednesday, some ninety sick and injured people as well as four hundred foreign nationals and dual citizens were scheduled to depart.

A source briefed on the accord said on Wednesday that Qatar had earlier mediated an agreement between Egypt, Israel, and Hamas, in coordination with the US, to allow for the passage of foreign passport holders and certain seriously injured people out of besieged Gaza.

The source stated that there is no timeframe for how long the Rafah border crossing will be open for evacuation, but that the deal will allow the passage of foreign passport holders and certain seriously injured individuals via it.

According to the source, the deal is not connected to other matters that are being discussed, such as the hostages held by Hamas, the Palestinian Islamist organisation that rules over Gaza, or pauses intended to alleviate a humanitarian crisis in the enclave where there are shortages of food, water, fuel, and medical supplies.

After weeks of airstrikes, Israel moved its forces into Gaza in retaliation for a significant attack carried out on October 7 by Hamas, which is backed by Iran.

Abu Ubaida, the spokesman for Al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, stated in a video on the Telegram app on Tuesday that Hamas has informed mediators that it will soon release some of the approximately 200 foreign prisoners it had detained during the raid on Israel. He did not elaborate on the number of detainees or their nationality.