Dozens of foreigners and dual nationals left the Gaza Strip for Egypt this Wednesday, November 1, through the Rafah border terminal, opened for the first time to people almost a month after the start of the deadly attack on Hamas in Israel. Nine Israeli soldiers lost their lives in the fighting against Hamas but Israeli President Netanyahu promises a “victory” despite the “painful losses”
Foreigners and dual nationals leave Gaza for Egypt
“A first group of people holding foreign passports will cross the Rafah terminal towards Egypt on Wednesday,” told AFP an official of the authorities in charge of this border post with Gaza, bombarded relentlessly by Israel since start of the war against Hamas.
The Egyptian authorities announced the exceptional opening of this crossing point to allow the arrival of nearly 90 injured Palestinians and 450 dual nationals and foreigners. Five French people are among them, according to BFMTV which gets its information from a diplomatic source. According to foreign chancelleries, nationals of 44 countries and 28 foreign agencies, organizations or NGOs are in the Gaza Strip.
Nine Israeli soldiers die in Gaza fighting
The Israeli army published this Wednesday the names of nine soldiers killed in combat the day before in Gaza, bringing to 326 the number of its military losses since the Hamas attack on October 7. The death of these soldiers represents “a hard and painful blow,” responded Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.
“We are prepared and ready for a long and complex campaign,” he wrote on X (formerly Twitter), highlighting the “important successes” of the Israeli army in Gaza. The Israeli army has announced that it has struck more than 11,000 targets in the Gaza Strip since the start of the war.
“Total” internet and telephone cutoff in Gaza
The Palestinian telecommunications operator Paltel announced this Wednesday a “total” cut of telephone and internet lines in the Gaza Strip, besieged by the Israeli army. “We regret to announce to the compatriots of our beloved country a total interruption of communications and Internet services in Gaza,” Paltel said on the social network X.
Network watchdog Netblocks confirmed that “live measurements show that the Gaza Strip is experiencing a new internet outage with a significant impact on the operator Paltel.” The incident means “a complete loss of telecommunications for most residents”, he added.
Antony Blinken in Israel on Friday
The head of American diplomacy Antony Blinken will visit Israel on Friday as part of a second tour of the Middle East since the start of the war triggered by the Hamas attack on October 7, his spokesperson announced Tuesday evening. word. There he “will meet with Israeli government officials and make other stops in the region,” State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters, without specifying which ones.
President Joe Biden, for his part, spoke with the King of Jordan, Abdullah II, with whom he “discussed emergency mechanisms to curb violence, calm rhetoric and reduce regional tensions”, indicated Tuesday evening a statement from the White House.