After nearly a month of conflict and many difficult and complicated negotiations, the first group of foreigners has been allowed to leave the Gaza Strip.
The breakthrough that allowed the first group of foreign nationals, including many Americans, to leave Gaza on November 1 came after weeks of diplomatic efforts by multiple sides. The deal to allow foreign passport holders and wounded civilians to leave Gaza through the Rafah border crossing with Egypt was reached on October 31, before Israeli forces launched airstrikes on Gaza’s largest refugee camp.
Qatar, with US support, was the main broker of the deal between Israel, Egypt and Hamas, according to sources familiar with the talks.
People celebrate as they cross the Rafah border crossing after being allowed to leave the Gaza Strip on November 1. Photo: AFP
Before the deal, there were times when US officials thought they could get Americans out, and the State Department even recommended that citizens make their way to the Rafah crossing. But all efforts failed, leaving hundreds of Americans stranded in Gaza frustrated and scared.
A team of US officials led by Ambassador David Satterfield has engaged in direct diplomatic efforts in both Israel and Egypt, but has relied on partner countries to communicate with Hamas.
"We talk to Israel, we talk to Egypt, but we don't talk to Hamas directly. Egypt and Qatar can send messages to Hamas. But you can imagine how difficult it is. It's very complicated," a State Department spokesperson said last week.
At the start of the talks, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi stressed that humanitarian aid would go to Gaza before Cairo would consider allowing civilians to leave the area. Egypt also made it clear that it would not accept a mass influx of refugees into the country.
Hamas wanted the wounded Palestinians to be able to leave with foreign nationals. It also wanted some of its fighters to accompany the wounded to Egypt. That request was denied, according to a senior US official.
However, the US supports allowing wounded civilians to leave Gaza for medical care. The US has focused on convincing Israel to accept a list of patients who can leave.
Mr Biden and Mr Sisi spoke together, agreeing that it was important to ensure “Palestinians in Gaza do not permanently move to Egypt or any other country”, the White House said over the weekend.
Egypt wants an international body to manage and screen people from the Gaza side before they cross the border, according to a source familiar with the matter. Negotiators have been working with the United Nations, which has agreed to take on that role.
However, they have been unable to get assurances from Hamas that UN officials will not be harassed or hindered in their work. Hamas does not want UN officials operating in the Gaza Strip but wants them to work on the Egyptian side, which Cairo refuses to accept due to security concerns.
Despite days of effort, negotiators were unable to convince Hamas to agree to what Egypt wanted, so they turned their attention to other potential routes. Negotiators realized that time was not on their side. Israel agreed to allow foreigners to leave Gaza through the Kerem Shalom crossing, but Hamas continued to be a problem. Several attempts were made to send small groups of civilians through that route, but were blocked by Hamas.
Location of Rafah and Kerem Shalom border crossings on the Egypt-Gaza Strip border. Graphic: datawrapper
In recent days, Egypt dropped its demand for a third party to monitor the Rafah crossing, while Hamas agreed to allow it to operate, after discussions with Qatar.
As negotiations progressed and aid trucks were able to enter Gaza, Egypt became more open. It asked US officials to provide a list of its citizens and their families who wanted to leave Gaza. State Department spokesman Matt Miller said on November 1 that Cairo had “agreed to allow evacuees through the Rafah crossing several weeks ago, but it has taken a long time to implement the plan.”
US officials say Hamas is the one that is hindering the efforts. Miller said last week that Hamas sometimes leaves border checkpoints unattended, while other times it has massed forces to prevent people from reaching the border crossing.
By the end of the week, the prospects for a deal had become clearer. President Biden spoke again with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Egyptian President Sisi on October 29 to discuss the details of a potential deal.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke by phone with his Qatari counterpart Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani on October 30 and urged increased pressure on Hamas to pass the agreement.
By the next day, "the United States had reached a point where we could be confident that American citizens would be able to leave Gaza," Miller said on November 1.
Hamas-controlled border officials oversaw the evacuation of civilians through the Gaza crossing. About 400 U.S. citizens and family members, about 1,000 in total, and about 5,000 other foreign nationals were allowed to leave, Blinken said.
Haneen Okal, a 31-year-old mother of three, was among those with US passports allowed to leave the strip.
"We can't describe the feeling of leaving. But we are still sad because of what is happening in Gaza. The war is still there," Okal said. "My parents and four siblings are still there. My parents are American citizens, but they don't want to leave the rest of the family. I hope they can leave as soon as possible."
Thanh Tam (According to CNN, NPR )
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