While the State Department publicly faults Hamas for Americans' inability to leave, privately, officials say it's more complicated.
Shannon K. CrawfordWhen Abood Okal, a 36-year-old American father trapped in Gaza, received word from U.S. State Department officials informing him the Rafah crossing into Egypt would likely open on Oct. 21 for the first time since, he thought the nightmare he has been enduring with his wife and young son might finally be coming to an end.
The senior official added in the same email to Nabulsi that U.S. officials had advised consular officers working with Americans in Gaza "not to issue any additional statements advising Americans of opportunities to cross Rafah until we have a clear 'yes' from all actors." "We have been making progress," Miller said during a press briefing on Thursday. "It's something that we are focused on and hope to have American citizens and other foreign nationals able to move through in the coming days."
But video and images sent by Okal on Saturday appear to show no one blocking the Rafah passage. Only a gathering of people, including women and children, standing up against a closed gate with pieces of luggage, was visible in those images and video.
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