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The Rafah border crossing has reopened for the evacuation of dozens of foreign nationals and injured Palestinians from the besieged and bombarded Gaza Strip into Egypt, media reported on Sunday.
Reuters news agency cited four Egyptian security sources as saying the border crossing was opened. The French AFP news agency and local Egyptian media also reported that the crossing had reopened on Sunday.
Limited evacuations via the Rafah border crossing, possible since November 1, have been halted twice due to bombardments.
Russia has begun to evacuate its citizens from Gaza with the first batch of over 60 Russian passport holders crossing into Egypt, Reuters reported.
“At the moment, citizens of the Russian Federation who wish to leave the conflict zone are crossing the checkpoint,” Russia’s Emergencies Ministry said, adding that ministry specialists were providing them with medical and psychological assistance, as well as food and water.
Russian media suggested some 1,000 Russian nationals have expressed a wish to leave the strip.
Polish officials have also started evacuating their citizens on Sunday. Jacek Siewiera, the head of Poland’s National Bureau of Security said on social media that the first Polish citizens to be evacuated from Gaza have crossed the border into Egypt.
“The process has begun. The Air Force, as ordered by the Polish president, is ready to carry out the transport,” Siewiera said.
Reuters cited Siewiera as saying 18 Polish citizens had been evacuated. He added that the evacuation efforts were facilitated by Qatar, Israel and Egypt.
Siewiera confirmed that the Rafah crossing was reopened for foreigners’ evacuations, after disruptions over the past few days.
Reuters also reported that seven injured Palestinians had been taken to Egypt and that at least 80 aid trucks had passed from Egypt into Gaza.
Many of these figures could not be independently verified due to the complicated situation on the ground.
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