Efforts to facilitate the safe departure of foreign passport holders trapped in the besieged Gaza Strip have hit a roadblock due to a dispute between Hamas and Egypt over the placement of UN monitors, according to diplomats involved in the negotiations.
Qatar has reportedly brokered an agreement that would see the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt to open today and allow foreigners and dual nationals to leave the Strip.
According to the Reuters news agency, there is no agreement on how long the crossing will remain open.
The outlet says Qatar mediated the agreement between Egypt, Israel and the Hamas terror group, which controls Gaza, in coordination with the United States.
A first group of foreign passport holders is to be allowed to leave the war-battered Gaza Strip for Egypt Wednesday, an Egyptian official at the Rafah border crossing tells
@AFP. Television channels close to the Egyptian intelligence services broadcast live images of a fleet of ambulances entering the terminal from the Egyptian side in readiness to bring out 81 seriously wounded Palestinians for treatment in Egyptian hospitals, according to Egyptian and Palestinian officials
Background
The Western governments have been actively engaged in securing safe passage for foreign nationals and Palestinians with dual citizenship since Israel initiated its bombardment of the Hamas-controlled territory over three weeks ago. Egypt had agreed to assist in this process but insisted that the United Nations oversee the evacuation of foreign passport holders from Gaza, as reported by three Western diplomats.
However, the negotiations reached an impasse over the location of UN officials. Cairo argued that the UN monitors should be stationed on the Gaza side of the border, controlled by Hamas, while the Palestinian militant group insisted that they should be positioned on the Egyptian side.
“This deadlock is frustrating for everyone,” commented one Western diplomat.
Nonetheless, a source familiar with the discussions indicated that a deal to break the deadlock and allow foreign nationals, including critically wounded Palestinians, to leave through the Rafah crossing was “close.”
Qatar has been playing a mediating role between Hamas, Egypt, and Israel to facilitate an agreement.
From Cairo’s perspective, deploying monitors on the Egyptian side was considered unnecessary, as their primary reason for requesting UN management of the process was to ensure an orderly flow of people through the Rafah crossing.
US Involvement
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken emphasized the priority of helping the 500-600 US citizens trapped in Gaza leave the territory. He pointed out that this effort has been hindered by Hamas, stating, “This is something we’re working on every single day.”
Itayi Viriri, a spokesperson for the International Organization for Migration, mentioned that several member states had reached out to the UN agency requesting support in evacuating hundreds of foreign nationals from Gaza. The organization expressed its commitment to the safety and well-being of civilians, offering humanitarian efforts under the UN umbrella while upholding human rights and international law.
The exact number of foreigners in Gaza remains unknown, but there are believed to be dozens of aid workers and hundreds of Palestinians with dual nationality.
The Rafah crossing, the sole exit and entry point into Gaza not controlled by Israel, has been a focal point for these evacuation efforts. However, Cairo has made it clear that it will not accept a flood of refugees into Egypt.
Safety and Assistance:
The International Organization for Migration has received requests from several member states seeking UN agency support for the evacuation of foreign nationals from Gaza.
The organization is ready to provide humanitarian aid to those affected, ensuring their safety and well-being while respecting human rights and international law.
Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi is concerned that prolonged Israeli offensive in Gaza may increase pressure on Egypt to accommodate a large number of refugees in Sinai, a sparsely populated and arid peninsula with a history of instability. Sisi has expressed fears that any displacement of Palestinians from Gaza into Egypt could become a permanent situation.
The Gaza Situation
Israel’s siege of Gaza and its ongoing military operations, initiated in response to a Hamas attack on October 7, have resulted in significant casualties, with more than 1,400 people killed, according to Israeli officials. The Islamist militant group also took more than 230 hostages during the conflict.
As Israel escalated its offensive, it ordered over a million people, approximately half of Gaza’s population, to relocate from the densely populated north to the south of the enclave. Israeli tanks and troops have advanced into northern areas in what Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described as a new, expansive phase of the conflict.
The Palestinian health ministry in Gaza reported that over 8,500 Palestinians have been killed in the Israeli bombardment, and the United Nations has issued warnings of a humanitarian catastrophe as the territory grapples with severe shortages of food, water, and fuel.
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