The first group of an estimated 7,500 foreign passport holders trapped in Gaza since the Israel-Hamas war began on October 7, were able to leave the besieged enclave for Egypt through the Rafah Crossing after weeks of intense diplomatic effort.
_x000D_At least 320 foreign nationals, including US and British citizens, and dozens of severely injured Gazans were among the first beneficiaries of the Qatari-mediated deal brokered between Egypt, Israel and Hamas.
_x000D_They were driven through the Rafah border crossing and underwent security checks, officials said. Diplomats said initial foreign national evacuees were expected to travel by road to Cairo and fly out from there.
_x000D_Egypt’s health ministry said 16 medical evacuees had been transferred to hospitals in the northern Sinai region, 11 to Al Arish and five to Bir al-Abd. Egypt has also prepared a field hospital at Sheikh Zuweid, 15 km (9 miles) from Rafah, to treat evacuees from Gaza.
_x000D_US State Department Spokesman Matthew Miller said a number of those who left were American citizens, but that he would not provide a head count. There are some 400 US citizens who have expressed a desire to leave, which together with their family members would constitute a group of some 1,000 people, he said.
