Many foreign passport holders have lingered near the border since the first days of the war, pushed south by Israeli orders and drawn there by promises that the crossing might open for them to evacuate.
But the gates never opened to civilians — until today.
Egyptian and Palestinian officials opened the crossing to allow a number of injured civilians and an agreed-upon list of around 500 foreign nationals to evacuate. It followed a deal involving Egypt, Hamas and Israel that was mediated by Qatar in coordination with U.S. officials, a diplomat briefed on the talks told NBC News.
The list, seen by NBC News and confirmed by a Palestinian border official, included citizens of Australia, Austria, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Finland, Indonesia, Jordan and Japan, as well as a group of aid workers from various countries.
The names of five American aid workers were on the list.
A U.S. official confirmed that fewer than 10 Americans were given permission to depart through the crossing, with more set to evacuate Thursday.
Injured civilians were the first to officially cross the border, having been transferred from Palestinian ambulances to Egyptian ambulances just before 8 a.m. ET.
The Palestinian side of the crossing opened to foreign nationals in the morning, allowing people to gather in a holding area where they remained for several hours as officials moved through the task of processing their paperwork.
A spokesperson for the the Egyptian Health Ministry said at about 9 a.m. ET that the first foreign nationals had officially cleared the crossing, hours after the Palestinian side of the gate first opened.
As of late Wednesday morning ET, 76 injured civilians had been taken by ambulance into Egypt and 335 foreign nationals were driven in buses through the crossing, according to Wael Abu Mohsen, head of communications for the Palestinian side of the crossing.
Doctors at the crossing had conducted examinations of 117 foreign nationals, including vaccinations for more than 30 children, the Egyptian Health Ministry said. All the patients are in stable condition, it noted.
Some families could be seen smiling, holding their children’s hands as they moved through the gate. It was just the start of a lengthy journey that included being processed through entry procedures, in addition to actually moving through the crossing.
But many still remained waiting for more news, especially American citizens who — with the exception of a few aid workers — were not included on the list allowed to depart.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
