They leave behind the hell of Gaza. More than 100 French nationals in total have been able to leave the Palestinian territory since the start of evacuations via Egypt a week ago, the Quai d'Orsay announced on Tuesday.
"Two groups of French nationals, agents and beneficiaries were able to leave" Monday and Tuesday the territory subject to incessant Israeli bombardment and "are safe in Egypt, where they were taken care of by the Embassy of France and our Consulate General in Cairo as well as by the teams of the crisis center" of the ministry, French diplomacy said in a statement. "This brings to more than 100 people the total of outings organized by France," according to the Quai d'Orsay.
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The Gaza Strip has been pounded by Israeli airstrikes since Oct. 7, when Hamas carried out an attack on a scale unprecedented in Israel, killing 1,400 people, the vast majority of them civilians, according to authorities.
After a month-long war between Israel and Gaza's ruling Islamist movement, more than 10,000 people, mostly also civilians, have been killed in the Palestinian territory, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry.
Hundreds of evacuations over the past week
Since last Wednesday, evacuations of wounded Gazans, foreigners and dual nationals have been organized via the Rafah crossing, in the south of the Palestinian enclave, on the Egyptian border. It is the only border crossing in the territory that is not held by the Israeli army.
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Three days of evacuation have already taken place between Wednesday and Friday, leaving dozens of wounded Palestinians and hundreds of foreign passport holders. After a two-day closure, departures from Rafah resumed on Monday.
Hundreds of people holding foreign passports were waiting in Rafah on Tuesday to be evacuated to Egypt, an AFP journalist said.
The Rafah crossing, on the Egyptian border, is the only exit point from the Gaza Strip that is not manned by the Israeli army. AFP or licensors
"Yesterday, Monday, 96 trucks of humanitarian aid arrived" while "19 wounded and one sick, and about 200 people of foreign nationality also left," the spokesman for the crossing point said. He mentioned a list of 500 people allowed to enter Egypt on Tuesday.
"We will continue our efforts in the coming days so that all our compatriots, our agents and their families who wish to leave Gaza can do so," added the Quai d'Orsay, recalling "France's diplomatic efforts" and thanking "the Egyptian authorities for all their help" in these evacuations.
In parallel with these evacuations to Egypt, humanitarian aid has been being delivered to the Palestinian territory for several days, going in the opposite direction. "France stands with Egypt to increase humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza."