101 people with Swedish citizenship and one with a residence permit may be allowed to leave the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, according to a list of names published by local authorities in Gaza.
On Monday, 62 Swedes crossed the border to Egypt.
The list of Swedes mainly consists of families, many of whom are natives of southern and western Sweden. The majority of the people are children under the age of 18, of which around 30 are twelve or younger. The youngest on the list is a one-year-old.
The list was published after the Swedish Foreign Ministry announced on Monday evening that another 100 Swedes will be allowed to leave on Tuesday after a first group of 80 people were given the green light to cross the border into Egypt on Monday.
Svante Liljegren, head of the Foreign Ministry’s consular unit, says in SVT’s Morgonstudion on Tuesday morning that 62 of the 80 have gotten out.
– There may be more who have come out without contacting the Swedish embassy in Cairo which was on site at the border station.
“Too dangerous”
He further says that it is difficult to reach them with a lack of mobile coverage and that the Foreign Ministry does not have contact with all those who have received permission to leave Gaza.
– But the state of war also means that some of those we contact have responded and said that they cannot get to the border station. It’s simply too dangerous.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, over 500 people with Swedish citizenship or residence permits have contacted and asked for help to leave Gaza. According to Svante Liljegren, there are still approximately 500 people still on site.
Foreign Minister Tobias Billström referred on Monday to the fact that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been advising Swedish citizens against traveling to Gaza for ten years.
– This means that anyone who has entered Gaza as a Swedish citizen has a very big personal responsibility.