Troops manning the Rafah border crossing connecting Egypt and the Gaza Strip permitted people in critical condition as well as foreign passport holders to leave Gaza for the first time on Wednesday, though hundreds of Americans remain in the Hamas-controlled territory.
Over 500 American citizens have been stuck in Gaza since hostilities erupted on October 7 following Hamas’s surprise invasion of Israel.
“Today, thanks to American leadership, we secured safe passage for wounded Palestinians and for foreign nationals to exit Gaza,” President Joe Biden wrote Wednesday afternoon on X. “We expect American citizens to exit today, and we expect to see more depart over the coming days. We won’t let up working to get Americans out of Gaza.”
Nearly 600 foreign visitors were expected to pass through the border crossing Wednesday, according to Reuters. John Kirby, a National Security Council spokesman, told reporters that “a handful of Americans” were expected to be in the group. “This is just the first step in what we consider to be a multistep process that will unfold over coming days,” Kirby added.
Matthew Miller, a spokesperson for the State Department, similarly confirmed reports of American passport holders successfully getting out of Gaza. “There are a number of American citizens who have crossed through Rafah and are in Egypt today,” Miller told reporters, although he refused to note how many were in the group.
An email sent by the State Department to American citizens in the Gaza Strip earlier this week, and viewed by the New York Times, noted that passport holders could expect “limited departures from Gaza may begin this week” and that border crossings are expected to continue in the coming days.
Similar directives were shared by British officials with their citizens caught in Gaza. “We understand the crossing will be open for controlled and time-limited periods to allow specific groups of foreign nationals and the seriously wounded to leave,” the United Kingdom’s Foreign Office wrote on X.
“It is therefore likely the departure of British nationals from Gaza will take place in stages over the coming days.”
The Rafah border crossing was reopened following intense negotiations between the United States, Israel, Hamas, Qatar, and Egypt. Although the specific details of the negotiations remain unclear, foreign passport holders, international aid workers, as well as wounded or severely injured people are expected to be allowed through.