Israel, the U.S., and Egypt have reached an agreement to ensure foreigners residing in Gaza can leave via Egypt's Rafah border crossing, the Times of Israel reported on Oct. 14, citing an anonymous senior Egyptian official.
Qatar was reportedly also involved in the negotiations, and the Palestinian militant groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad gave their approval, the Times of Israel said. The deal does not include any hostages Hamas took during their attack against Israel on Oct. 7.
According to the Egyptian official, Israel has agreed not to strike the area surrounding the Rafah border crossing.
A second Egyptian official told the Times of Israel that they had received “instructions” to reopen the Rafah border crossing on Saturday afternoon for foreigners coming from Gaza.
Negotiations are still underway to get humanitarian aid into Gaza through the crossing point.
Israel ordered a mass evacuation of civilians from northern Gaza before striking presumed Hamas strongholds, which drew strong criticism from the international community.
"Moving more than one million people across a densely populated war zone to a place with no food, water, or accommodation, when the entire territory of Gaza is under siege, is extremely dangerous – and in some cases, simply not possible," U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Oct. 14.
Israel's targeted strikes on Gaza come after Hamas launched an unprecedented attack against Israel on Oct. 7, killing over 1,000 people.
Alexander Query
