Egypt opens Rafah crossing for first time to evacuate foreigners from Gaza

For the first time since the start of the war in the Middle East, Cairo opened the Rafah checkpoint on November 1 to evacuate the wounded and foreign citizens from the Gaza Strip to Egypt. The opening of the crossing was agreed upon by the authorities of Israel and Egypt with representatives of the Palestinian Hamas movement through the mediation of Qatar. The Egyptian government has agreed to allow 80 wounded Palestinians and over 400 foreign citizens into its territory, Al Jazeera reported, citing diplomatic sources.

Earlier in the morning, the Hamas-controlled Gaza Border Guard released lists of citizens allowed to leave the Gaza war zone through the Rafah crossing. Among them are citizens of Australia, Austria, Bulgaria, Indonesia, Jordan, Finland, the Czech Republic and Japan. There are no Russians on the list. In addition, employees of the International Committee of the Red Cross and non-governmental organizations working in the Palestinian enclave are allowed to leave. Of the 6,000 foreigners living in Gaza, there are at least 430 people on the lists, according to Reuters – 500 people.

As Reuters writes, citing sources in the Egyptian security services, the lists of foreign citizens were agreed upon by representatives of Cairo and Tel Aviv, and the relevant embassies were informed about the progress of the negotiations. An Israeli official, who wished to remain anonymous, confirmed to the agency that Israel is coordinating the issue with Egyptian authorities.

The Financial Times, citing diplomatic sources, reported that diplomats are currently negotiating the daily evacuation of 1,000 people from the Palestinian enclave besieged by the Israeli military to Egypt. According to an Egyptian medical official, Egyptian authorities will build a 1,300-square-foot hospital to accommodate wounded Palestinians. m in the city of Sheikh Zuweida in northern Sinai, approximately 16 km from Rafah.

On the same day, the press secretary of the Russian representation in the Palestinian National Authority in Ramallah, Aliya Zaripova, told Vedomosti that Russian diplomats were checking information in the media about the opening of an Egyptian checkpoint. She added that the lists for evacuation of foreign citizens have not changed since the last reconciliation. There may be about 2,000 Russian citizens throughout the formal territory of the Palestinian Authority, of which 1,200 are in the Gaza Strip, besieged by the Israeli army and controlled by the Hamas movement. According to Russian Ambassador to Israel Anatoly Viktorov, Palestinian militants are also believed to be holding six Russians captive (they are among the 240 people the Israeli military says were captured by Palestinian militants during attacks on Israeli border settlements in early October). Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov said on November 1, as Interfax reported, that he is not yet aware of any progress in allowing Russians to leave Gaza.

In total, more than 800,000 Palestinians have fled their homes in the north and moved into refugee camps in the south of the enclave since the war began on October 7. Previously, the Egyptian authorities opposed the resettlement of Gaza residents to the Sinai Peninsula. Moreover, in order to prevent the influx of tens of thousands of refugees due to the fighting, Egypt has placed tanks and other armored vehicles on the border with the enclave, writes The Times of Israel. The opening of the Rafah checkpoint for the evacuation of about 500–600 US citizens and the release of Americans from captivity were one of the main topics of negotiations during the Middle East tour of US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on October 12–16. Blinken’s return visit to the region is scheduled for November 3.

Egypt is still cautiously allowing Palestinians and foreign citizens from Gaza into its territory, says Nikolai Surkov, a senior researcher at the Center for Middle Eastern Studies at IMEMO RAS. According to him, Cairo fears that in the event of a mass evacuation of foreigners from the Arab enclave, an uncontrolled flow of Palestinian refugees into the Arab republic may follow: “Egypt is experiencing economic difficulties, and the influx of displaced people will put serious pressure on the country’s economy. In addition, the refugee camp could become a hub for Palestinian militant activity and arms smuggling.” The Egyptian authorities believe that Palestinians can launch raids on Israel through their territory, which they are trying with all their might to prevent, the expert added.

Cairo, Surkov believes, is also trying to use foreign citizens blocked in Gaza for bargaining purposes in negotiations with Western states so that they put pressure on the Israeli government. According to him, Egypt and other Arab countries are trying to slow down the progress of the Israeli military operation and, if possible, reduce losses among the Palestinian population. “Further evacuation of foreign citizens and Palestinians will depend on the scale of hostilities and the situation in the region,” the expert concluded.