The Gaza Border Authority announced this Saturday (11) that the Rafah land crossing into Egypt would be reopened on Sunday (12) to foreign passport holders – which could allow Brazilians to cross.
Departures from the Gaza Strip to Egypt of foreign citizens and Palestinians in need of urgent medical care were suspended on Friday (10), according to three Egyptian security sources and a Palestinian official.
The Palestinian official and an Egyptian medical source said the suspension was due to problems transporting medical patients from Gaza to Rafah.
Ambassador Alessandro Candeas, Brazilian representative to Palestine, said CNN On Saturday morning, there was still no possibility for the 34 Brazilians and their families to leave the Gaza Strip through the Rafah crossing.
According to Candeas, the prerequisite for opening the border for the evacuation of foreigners authorized to leave the Palestinian territory is the passage of an ambulance convoy with injured people, who have priority in the queue for cross the border.
The logistics of moving ambulances, however, were hampered after the bombing of major Palestinian health centers.
The group is awaiting permission to cross the border and, once arriving in Egyptian territory, will travel approximately 55 km by land until reaching Al-Arish Airport, Egypt.
There, a plane from the Presidency of the Republic awaits the Brazilians to leave for Brazil. Before the attacks on hospitals, it was expected that the first flight with returnees from Gaza would arrive on Brazilian soil on Sunday (12).
In addition to the 34 Brazilians already authorized to leave Gaza on a list published last Thursday (9), there is a second group of around 40 people in the region waiting to be included in a future list.
The information was confirmed at CNN by high-ranking members of Itamaraty this Friday (10).
See also: Brazilians in Gaza wait to leave the territory
*With information from Reuters.
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