RAFAH, Gaza: People hoping to leave the Gaza Strip converged on the Rafah crossing to Egypt on Thursday (Nov 2), with those whose names were on an official list gradually passing through while others held up their foreign passports in vain.
The crossing was open for limited evacuations for a second day under a Qatar-brokered deal between Israel, Egypt, Hamas and the United States, aimed at letting some foreign passport holders and their dependents, and some wounded Gazans, out of the besieged enclave.Among them was Ghada el-Saka, an Egyptian national who was visiting relatives in Gaza when the war started and the crossing was closed.
On the Gaza side of the crossing, exhausted people slumped on chairs, some with their heads between their knees. Children slept, including one who had a small toy horse with broken legs next to him. There were 15 countries in total. Those with the largest number of names on the list were the United States with 400, Belgium with 50, Greece, 24, Croatia, 23, the Netherlands, 20, and Sri Lanka, 17.
"We've seen people displaced, children who lost their parents, burnt and decapitated bodies. I'm one of the people who lost their houses," he said. Egypt's foreign ministry said nearly 7,000 people holding nationalities of more than 60 countries were expected to leave. Diplomatic sources said the process may take up to two weeks.
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