Gaza evacuations through Rafah crossing accelerate after reopening

Palestinians with foreign passports wait for permission to leave Gaza, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, at the Rafah border crossing with Egypt, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, November 7, 2023. REUTERS

CAIRO — The number of evacuees leaving the Gaza Strip through Egypt rose on Tuesday, a day after the Rafah border crossing was reopened.

At least 500 people, most of them foreigners or dual nationals and their dependents, passed through Rafah, the only crossing that does not border Israel, Egyptian security sources said.

Evacuations through the crossing were suspended on Saturday and Sunday after an Israeli strike on an ambulance that was heading to Rafah. Egyptian security sources said Egypt continued to press for increased aid and fuel into the strip and security for ambulances.

READ: Gaza escape: Two Filipino doctors exit via Rafah border crossing, DFA confirms

Jordan’s foreign ministry said 262 Jordanians were evacuated on Tuesday, out of a total of 569 that had been stuck in Gaza following the outbreak of fighting there.

Canada said 59 of its citizens, permanent residents and family members were evacuated.

Nineteen Gazans needing medical treatment were also allowed through, a medical source said, to join dozens of others who are being treated in Egyptian hospitals.

Other countries with citizens cleared to leave on Tuesday included Romania, Germany, Moldova, Ukraine, the Philippines and France, according to the Gaza border authority.