First evacuees leave Gaza as Israeli offensive intensifies

A first group of injured evacuees from Gaza crossed into Egypt on Wednesday under a Qatari-mediated deal, Egyptian security sources said, as Israeli forces pressed their offensive against Hamas in the Palestinian enclave.

The evacuees were driven in ambulances through the Rafah border crossing. Under the deal reached between Egypt, Israel, and Hamas, a number of foreigners and critically wounded people will be allowed to leave the besieged territory in which they have been trapped.

The evacuation followed another day of bloodshed in Gaza in which an Israeli air strike on Tuesday killed about 50 people in a refugee camp, according to Palestinian health officials.

Israel said the attack killed a senior Hamas commander and many other combatants.

Palestinian residents said Israeli forces bombed and shelled Gaza by land, sea, and air throughout the night, inflicting scores more casualties among the civilian population.

Read: Israel PM rejects Gaza ceasefire as ’surrender to Hamas

Israel sent its forces into Hamas-controlled Gaza following weeks of air and artillery bombardments in retaliation for a deadly attack by Hamas on southern Israel on October 7.

Israel has vowed to wipe out Hamas. But the civilian death toll in Gaza and desperate humanitarian conditions have caused great concern across the world as food, fuel, drinking water and medicine run short and hospitals struggle to treat casualties.

An Egyptian security source had said earlier that up to 500 foreign passport holders will pass the Rafah border crossing on Wednesday. About 200 people were waiting at the Palestinian side of the border on Wednesday morning, the source said.

A second source said not all were expected to make it out on Wednesday. There was no timeline for how long the crossing will remain open for evacuation, they added.

A Western official said a list of people with foreign passports who can leave Gaza had been agreed between Israel and Egypt and relevant embassies have been informed. An Israeli official who requested anonymity confirmed that Israel was coordinating the exits with Egypt.