ABU DHABI: The US government on Saturday advised its citizens in Gaza to move south towards the Rafah border crossing with Egypt to be ready for its possible reopening amid the humanitarian crisis in the coastal enclave.
Washington worked with Egypt, Israel and Qatar to try to open the Rafah crossing for limited hours on Saturday afternoon to allow Palestinian-Americans to leave, a senior State Department official told reporters travelling with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. But it was unclear whether Hamas would allow access to the crossing, or whether any US citizens were able to exit, the official said later.
The US government estimates the number of dual-citizen Palestinian-Americans in Gaza at 500 to 600 among the strip’s population of 2.3 million, and Washington hopes to get many of its nationals out of harm’s way.
Published in Dawn, October 15th, 2023
