For the first time since Oct. 7 when Hamas attacked Israel, hundreds of foreign passport holders including Americans and some wounded Palestinians who have been trapped in Gaza have started leaving the area Wednesday after the Rafah border crossing opened to Egypt.
United States State Department spokesman Matt Miller said Americans have left Gaza through the Rafah border and arrived in Egypt on Wednesday, according to The Washington Post. It happened after weeks of negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Egypt.
The total number of Americans that got through the border is unknown but Miller said, according to the Post, that about 400 Americans are wanting to leave Gaza as well as their family members.
“An initial group of foreign nationals, including U.S. citizens, departed Gaza through Rafah today, and we expect exits of U.S. citizens and foreign nationals to continue over the next several days,” Miller said, according to The Associated Press.
“In the past 24 hours we have informed U.S. citizens and their family and family members with whom we are in contact that they will be assigned specific departure dates. We’ve asked them to continue to monitor their email regularly over the next 24 to 72 hours for specific instructions about how to exit,” Miller said, according to the AP.
Reuters reported, according to CBS News, that at least 320 foreign passport holders have crossed from Gaza into Egypt.