Cairo, Nov 2 (EFE).- Egypt, a country that has the only exit from the Gaza Strip not controlled by Israel, estimated at around 7,000 people, from 60 countries, the number of foreigners or people with dual nationality trapped in the Palestinian enclave under Israeli attack that may be evacuated and repatriated.
This was explained by the Egyptian Foreign Ministry to the ambassadors and diplomatic representatives in Cairo whom it summoned last night to explain its plan for these evacuations, which began yesterday after several weeks of negotiations between Egypt, Israel and Hamas, mediated by Qatar.
According to a statement from the Egyptian Foreign Ministry this Thursday, representatives of that department informed the heads of diplomatic missions “of the preparations to facilitate the reception and evacuation of foreign citizens from Gaza through the Rafah crossing, numbering about 7,000 with nationalities from more than 60 countries”.
That meeting was called by the advisor to the Egyptian Foreign Minister, Ismail Jairat, after Cairo opened the Rafah land crossing on Wednesday, and allowed the entry into Egyptian territory of a first group of Palestinians with foreign passports and nationals of other countries.
Egypt also authorized the entry into the country, in Egyptian ambulances, of a “first group” of Palestinians seriously injured by the constant Israeli bombings to receive treatment in hospitals in northern Sinai.
At the meeting, Jairat “reviewed in detail the aspects of the plan to receive and evacuate foreign citizens from Gaza in accordance with Egyptian instructions and regulatory laws, and the role assigned to each foreign mission in receiving its nationals from the crossing of Rafah.”
This role – he adds – refers “in particular to obtaining the necessary travel documents for citizens of those countries that allow them to enter Egyptian territory and their subsequent repatriation during the specified period of time, as well as the necessary logistical arrangements.” .
In this context, the Egyptian Foreign Advisor “responded to all the queries received from ambassadors and representatives of foreign missions in this regard,” he emphasized without adding more details.
The meeting also addressed “the ongoing medical preparations to receive emergency cases, whether foreign citizens or wounded Palestinians, victims of the Israeli bombardment of Gaza, including first aid, initial care for new arrivals, provision of ambulances and the preparation of hospitals to receive critical cases,” the statement added.
Around fifty Egyptian ambulances today transported dozens of seriously injured people from the Israeli bombings of the Gaza Strip to receive treatment in Egyptian hospitals, given the deteriorated situation in Gazan health centers, for the first time since the start of the bombings. Israelis from the Palestinian enclave.
In parallel, up to 335 Palestinians with foreign passports and citizens of other countries residing in the Strip left for Egypt on Wednesday, under an agreement brokered by Qatar with Israel, Hamas and the Government of Cairo. EFE
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