Today, a group of injured civilians and foreign nationals made history by being the first to leave the Gaza Strip since the beginning of Israel and Hamas’ conflict.
On Wednesday, hundreds of individuals gathered to enter Egypt at the Rafah border, clutching luggage and foreign passports, on stretchers and in strollers. Following the Israeli assault and siege of the Palestinian enclave, they were the first people to leave the Gaza Strip following Hamas’ unexpected terrorist strike.
One man, who appeared to have had his leg amputated, bid his loved ones farewell by taking their kisses on his forehead and cheeks. A small child, waiting to be sent to an urgent care facility, sobbed as his leg was bandaged and supported by a metal brace.
Crowds pressed through an open gate at the border facility as dozens of people were transported into ambulances. Holding onto their toddlers tightly with one hand, parents attempted to wheel their baggage with the other.
After several weeks of false dawns, they sat in plastic chairs and waited.
Since the beginning of the conflict, a large number of people with foreign passports have stayed close to the border, lured there by assurances that the crossing will open up and forcing them to flee.
However, until today, the gates were closed to the general public.
The crossing was opened by Palestinian and Egyptian officials to facilitate the evacuation of around 500 foreign people and several injured civilians. According to Wael Abu Mohsen, chief of communications on the Palestinian side of the border, as of late Wednesday AM ET, 335 foreign nationals were driven through the crossing on busses, and 76 injured civilians had been transported into Egypt by ambulance.
According to a diplomat briefed on the discussions, the crossings came about as a result of an agreement including Egypt, Hamas, and Israel that was negotiated by Qatar in cooperation with U.S. officials. The agreement involves transfers over a number of days, with Egypt deciding who crosses when.
Along with a number of international charity workers, the list of foreign nationals, which was seen by NBC News and verified by a Palestinian border official, included people of Australia, Austria, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Finland, Indonesia, Jordan, and Japan.
There were five American relief workers on the list. Less than ten Americans were allowed to leave through the border, according to a U.S. official, and more are scheduled to flee on Thursday.
As of 1:45 PM ET, according to State Department spokesman Matthew Miller, some US citizens have already entered Egypt.
Just before 8 a.m. ET, wounded individuals were moved from Palestinian ambulances to Egyptian ambulances, making them the first people to cross the border formally.
Foreign nationals were able to congregate in a holding area on the Palestinian side of the bridge early in the morning, where they stayed for several hours as officials processed their documentation. Even though it was just the beginning of a long journey, some families could be seen smiling and clutching their children’s hands as they passed through the gate.
Around nine in the morning ET, an official from the Egyptian Health Ministry announced that the first foreign nationals had successfully crossed the border.
Even though aid has been entering Gaza in recent weeks, the daily influx of trucks is not able to meet the needs of the over 2 million people living there, as food and water supplies are running low. Since the beginning of the conflict, fuel has been prohibited, leaving many homes, hospitals, and other buildings without electricity or dependent on generators. Additionally, in recent days, there have been numerous communications failures.
Over 8,700 people, many of them women and children, have reportedly died in Gaza, according to Palestinian health officials. The intensity of international calls for a cease-fire has increased in response to Israel’s expanding ground assault against Hamas.