Egypt assures evacuation of Ukrainians from Gaza will be priority

The Egyptian authorities have received lists of Ukrainian citizens for evacuation from the Gaza Strip.

Source: Dmytro Lubinets, Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights, on air of the national joint 24/7 newscast

Quote: "The evacuation of Ukrainian citizens will be a priority for the Egyptian authorities. These are the direct words of Deputy [Foreign Minister for Protection of Human Rights] Khalid El-Bakli. I spoke to him yesterday. Today, at 12:00, our ambassador handed him the lists, where he once again confirmed that the Egyptian authorities are now working to open the Rafah checkpoint as quickly as possible, for civilians to be evacuated through it.

But as of now – I spoke with our ambassador 10 minutes ago – there is currently no official information about the opening of the crossing point. And the Egyptian authorities have not yet permitted evacuation groups to approach this crossing point.

The Ukrainian side has already made all the technical points, completing the list of necessary means for evacuating our citizens.

As for the lists, they are growing, and the number of Ukrainian citizens who are asking for help to be evacuated from the Gaza Strip is growing. Additionally, men who are also citizens of Ukraine, who seek help, began to appear on the list."

Details: Lubinets added that more than half of all Ukrainians who asked for evacuation know that evacuation will occur through the Rafah crossing point, and more than a half of them are already close to this crossing point. First and foremost, these are citizens whose homes have been destroyed, and sometimes, they just walk to this crossing point with their children. 

The rest of the Ukrainians were informed that as soon as there is information about the checkpoint opening, they need to find an opportunity to get there as quickly as possible. According to Lubinets, the evacuation will occur exclusively through one crossing point.

Background:

• On 12 October, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) told the residents of the northern part of the Gaza Strip they had 24 hours to evacuate further south for their safety and warned it would continue strikes against Hamas militants in Gaza.
• The Rafah crossing is situated on the border between Egypt's Sinai Peninsula and Hamas-controlled Gaza, in the south of the enclave.
• Earlier, the media wrote about its closure due to Israeli strikes. However, Egypt claims that the Rafah crossing is open, and evacuation is impossible due to Israeli bombing. The Israel Defence Forces have claimed that Hamas militants are blocking the evacuation of Palestinians from the northern Gaza Strip.
• On 14 October, Dmytro Lubinets, Ukraine’s Human Rights Commissioner, has arrived in Cairo, Egypt, to help organise the evacuation of Ukrainian citizens from the Gaza Strip.

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