Americans are expected to leave Gaza on Wednesday for the first time since Hamas attacked Israel more than three weeks prior, President Joe Biden confirmed.
Conflicting reports emerged this week over whether U.S. citizens would be part of the first wave of foreign nationals allowed to leave Gaza at the Rafah crossing into Egypt.
A family from Massachusetts is still stuck in the Palestinian enclave and says they were told by the U.S. Embassy in Cairo that there is ‘no timeline for U.S. citizens to depart’ Gaza.
‘The State Department told me by email last night that they have not yet confirmed departure for its citizens, including the Okal Family,’ Sammy Nabulsi, a lawyer for the family, told DailyMail.com on Wednesday.
But Biden said on Wednesday that Americans are among those departing the Hamas stronghold in the Palestinian enclave of Gaza.
‘Today, thanks to American leadership, we secured safe passage for wounded Palestinians and for foreign nationals to exit Gaza,’ the president posted to X, formerly Twitter.
‘We expect American citizens to exit today, and we expect to see more depart over the coming days,’ he added. ‘We won’t let up working to get Americans out of Gaza.’
Abood Okal (right), his wife Wafa Sufian (left) and their one-year-old son have been trapped in Gaza since Hamas terrorist attacks more than three weeks prior. The U.S. citizens from Massachusetts claim they still do not have a safe or viable path toward leaving the Gaza Strip
People with foreign passports wait at the Rafah border between Gaza and Egypt after it opened this week – and following a negotiated deal to allow foreign nationals, including Americans, to leave the Palestinian enclave amid Israeli counterstrikes
Nabulsi claims Americans are excluded from a list of foreign nationals allowed to leave.
The lawyer of the family stuck in Gaza told DailyMail.com that the list of those permitted to cross from Gaza to Egypt are passport holders from Japan, Austria, Bulgaria, Indonesia, Jordan, Australia, Czech Republic and Finland.
‘On the list of approved foreign nationals, there was a separate group of NGO employees/aid workers,’ said Nabulsi. ‘I am aware of at least two U.S. citizens who were part of the NGO group that was permitted to cross. I do not know of additional Americans beyond the two.’
But State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller said Wednesday that Americans were among those let out of Gaza into Egypt.
He also said U.S. citizens are being provided specific days they will be permitted to leave, and told those waiting to get out of the Strip to monitor their email – where he said they will receive guidance in the next 24-72 hours.
Belarusian outlet Nexta is reporting that about a dozen Americans were among those let out into Egypt on Wednesday. It’s possible these individuals were dual citizens or part of that NGO list.
Nexta notes that 150 people crossed the border between Egypt and the Gaza Strip on Wednesday.
Abood Okal, his wife and their one-year-old son are all trapped in Gaza.
The family, from Medway, Massachusetts, told their attorney Nabulsi that they are still not permitted safe leave from Gaza.
Okal and his wife and young child have been holed-up in a single-family house with 40 other people, which includes 10 Americans.
Hundreds of foreign passport holders who have been trapped by the war between Hamas and Israel for three weeks have flocked to the border, hoping in vain that they could be some of the lucky few to flee the carnage.
While some British families have been let through alongside wounded Palestinians, some have reportedly been turned away by officials, reports The Telegraph.
The UK’s Foreign Office said around 200 trapped Britons will be able to cross the Rafah border crossing ‘in stages’ over the coming days.
For some families, they breathed a sigh of relief as they were able to stream out of the border gates, which have remained firmly shut to anyone entering from the besieged strip amid relentless Israeli counter strikes that Hamas says have killed over 8,500 people.
The Okal family said they are still trapped in the country, where they are staying in a single family home with 40 other people – including 10 other Americans
Pictures show relieved families streaming out of the Rafah border gates for the first time since the conflict between Hamas and Israel began on October 7, 2023
Palestinians are among those who crossed to the Egyptian side of the border crossing with the Gaza Strip amid a barrage of Israeli counterstrikes after Gaza’s de facto government and designated terrorist organization Hamas launched an unprompted attack on the Jewish state
Palestinians with foreign passports at Rafah Border Gate wait to cross into Egypt
The first groups of foreigners and injured evacuees have now passed into Egypt, according to local media, with people entering by ambulance or on foot, carrying just a few belongings as they make the journey to safety.
Queues began to form early Wednesday morning at the terminal and some 545 foreigners and dual nationals along with about 90 sick and wounded are expected to be allowed to leave.
After being allowed into the terminal area, huge lines formed around crossing booths for checks on passports and other documents. Ambulances waited on the Egyptian side to take away the wounded and sick.
The evacuations are believed to have been secured as part of a deal, mediated by Qatar, between Israel, Hamas and Egypt in coordination with the U.S.
Some British people trapped in Gaza are expected to be able to leave through the border crossing with Egypt today.
The Gaza Borders and Crossings Authority earlier published the names of more than 500 foreigners and dual citizenship holders called to travel to Rafah in order to leave the Strip.
The zone around the terminal has been hit during Israeli air raids, with pictures showing leveled buildings in Rafah.
Amid relentless Israeli bombardment following Hamas’ brutal terrorist attack nearly four weeks ago, those trapped in Gaza are facing shortages of medical supplies, food, water and fuel.
Some of those being taken out of Gaza for treatment in Egyptian hospitals are among more than 15,000 wounded in Israel’s retaliatory strikes.
The Hamas-run health ministry says the bombardment has killed more than 8,500 people. With the designated terrorist organization claiming two-thirds of those killed were women and children.
Israel’s airstrikes on Gaza came after Hamas’ invasion on October 7, which left 1,400 dead, mostly civilians. Another 240 people were taken hostage.
The terrorist attack led to the largest single-day massacre of Jewish people since the Holocaust.
Yesterday, a refugee camp in the north of Gaza was bombed by Israel’s Defence Forces, leaving at least 50 dead according to the Hamas-run health authority.
Israel Defence Forces’ (IDF) spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said ‘numerous Hamas terrorists were hit in the strike’.
Palestinians wounded in the airstrikes were met with ambulances and health care as they crossed from Gaza to Egypt on Wednesday
A medical worker attends to a Palestinian, who will receive treatment in an Egyptian hospital
An injured Palestinian man sits in an ambulance, as he waits for medical workers to take him to receive treatment in an Egyptian hospital
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Read more at DailyMail.co.uk