First foreigners leave Gaza for Egypt through Rafah crossing

RAFAH, PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES — Hundreds of foreign passport holders and wounded trapped in Gaza started leaving the war-torn territory on Wednesday as the Rafah crossing to Egypt opened for the first time since the October 7 Hamas attacks, AFP correspondents reported.

Convoys of desperately needed aid have passed between Egypt and Gaza but no people have been allowed through the Rafah crossing.

Queues formed early Wednesday at the terminal and some 545 foreigners and dual nationals along with about 90 sick and wounded were expected to leave.

After being allowed into the terminal area, huge queues formed around crossing booths for checks on passports and other documents.

Ambulances waited on the Egyptian side to take away the wounded and sick.

The zone around the terminal has been hit during Israeli air raids on Gaza after the Hamas attacks which Israeli authorities say left 1,400 dead, mostly civilians. Another 240 people were taken hostage.

Some of those being taken out for treatment in Egyptian hospitals are among more than 15,000 wounded in retaliatory Israeli strikes, which the Hamas-run health ministry says have killed more than 8,500 people, two-thirds of them women and children.

— AFP