The first aid trucks into Gaza can now enter through the Rafah border crossing.
The US Embassy advised foreigners to travel to the crucial border with Egypt.
As Israeli tanks are ready to advance into the besieged Palestinian enclave, the US Embassy has advised foreign nationals to escape by travelling to the Rafah crossing on the Gaza–Egypt border.
The Israeli military has persisted in using airstrikes to punish Gaza as payback for the heinous terror attacks carried out by Hamas on October 7.
An invasion seems likely, and tens of thousands of Israeli soldiers are bracing for combat.
The US Embassy announced this morning in an urgent security notice that it had learned the vital Rafah border crossing would reopen at 10 a.m. local time (8 a.m. BST).
The border opened this morning to allow a small amount of “life-saving” aid to reach Palestinians in the area under Israeli blockade who are in need of food, medicine, and water.
The 20-truck convoy is the first to enter Gaza since the conflict began two weeks ago.
Americans who are stuck can anticipate a “potentially chaotic and disorderly environment on both sides of the crossing,” according to authorities.
The enclave is thought to be home to 600 Americans.
The embassy advised foreigners that ‘we do not know how long it would be open for foreign individuals to depart Gaza’ and urged them to leave the country as soon as they could.
“The security environment is unpredictable and the situation remains dynamic and fluid,” they continued.
It is advisable to evaluate your own safety and security prior to deciding to approach the border or attempt to cross.
Following over a week of high-level diplomacy by many mediators, including trips to the area by US President Joe Biden and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, the Rafah crossing has opened.
According to Foreign Secretary James Cleverly, the assistance is a “lifeline” for individuals who are suffering in the region.
As trucks moved through the main gate to Gaza, aid workers on the Egyptian side of the crossing could be seen clapping and chanting.
Due to Israeli orders, residents from the north have evacuated to the south, swelling its population.
Today, Egypt is hosting a summit to address the Gaza problem and potentially prevent a wider regional conflict.
At the conference, Egyptian President Sisi extended an invitation to world leaders to reach a consensus on ending the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and reviving the peace process.
Among those in attendance was Guterres, who demanded “action to end this godawful nightmare” and a “humanitarian ceasefire” in the conflict.
It occurs at the same time that Judith Raanan and her daughter Natalie, 17, who was kidnapped from a kibbutz by the terror group, spent over two weeks in captivity before being freed by Hamas.
According to the family, the two were travelling to Israel to celebrate Jewish holidays from their suburban Chicago home.
On October 7, when Hamas and other terrorists broke into southern Israeli towns, killing hundreds and kidnapping 210 more, they were in the kibbutz of Nahal Oz, near Gaza.
Ben, Natalie’s brother, said that the family had not heard from them since the attack and that US and Israeli officials had later informed them that they were being held in Gaza.
Despite her hardship, her brother made fun of her appearance, saying he was ‘annoyed’ that she still looked ‘like a supermodel’. Despite being in captivity for 13 days, Natalie is “doing very well,” according to her father.
“She is doing well.”
Uri Raanan, 71, of the Chicago suburbs stated, “She’s doing very good.”
He added that they didn’t talk about her situation when she was being held captive.
“She gave me no information.”
She did, however, tell me that they treat her well and that she is doing well.
It’s going to be the finest day of my life, and I can’t wait to hug and kiss her.
Speaking with the families of the two released hostages was President Joe Biden.
The liberated Americans were taken by the International Committee of the Red Cross from Gaza to Israel, and the organisation called their release “a sliver of hope.”
Other prisoners’ relatives applauded the release and called for the liberation of additional detainees.
In a deal with Qatar, a country in the Persian Gulf that has frequently acted as a mediator in the Middle East, they were freed for humanitarian reasons.
In a statement, Hamas stated that, if security conditions allow, it was collaborating with mediators “to close the case” of hostages.
The group also reaffirmed its commitment to supporting attempts at mediation made by Qatar, Egypt, and other nations.
In an effort to secure the release of all hostages “with the ultimate aim of de-escalating the current crisis and restoring peace,” Qatar declared that it will carry on with talks with Israel and Hamas.
In other places, the Israeli government issued a dire warning, stating that after destroying Hamas in a ground assault, it will disconnect “the umbilical cord” with Gaza to establish “a new security reality” and close all borders.
Israel’s agriculture minister, Avi Dichter, stated on Thursday that after the battle, Israel will impose a buffer zone inside the Gaza Strip.
Israel’s foreign minister Eli Cohen stated on Wednesday that “at the end of this war, not only will Hamas no longer be in Gaza, but the territory of Gaza will also decrease,” remarks that appeared to allude to the establishment of a buffer zone in the coastal strip.
As regional tensions over the Gaza conflict continue to escalate, Israel has advised its own nationals to evacuate Egypt and Jordan immediately.
The National Security Council of Israel released a statement stating, “Israel’s National Security Council raises its travel warnings for Egypt (including Sinai) and Jordan to level 4 (high threat): recommendation not to travel to these countries and for those staying to leave… as soon as possible.
“Days have passed since Israel requested that its citizens also depart Turkey, prompting the recall of its ambassadors as a security measure.
Following days of demonstrations against Israel’s shelling of the Gaza Strip around the Middle East, the evacuation orders were issued.
According to Israeli sources, the conflict began when terrorists from Hamas poured into Israel from the Gaza Strip, kidnapping more than 200 captives and killing at least 1,400 people, most of them civilians who were shot, disfigured, or burned to death.
Since then, Israel has promised to destroy Hamas, and in retaliation, it has unleashed a bombing campaign that has destroyed entire city blocks in Gaza, killing 4,385 Palestinians, the majority of them are civilians, according to the health ministry operated by Hamas.
At the border, tens of thousands of Israeli soldiers, together with several tanks and armoured vehicles, are prepared for a ground invasion of the Gaza Strip.
The Rafah crossing opening today to let humanitarian aid in is a relief, since innocent civilians are getting caught in the crossfire.
Near the border are around 200 lorries and about 3,000 tonnes of relief supplies.
Israel declared that the supplies were restricted to civilian use and that they would ‘thwart’ any attempts by Hamas to divert.
It was uncertain if gasoline would be permitted to arrive for the hospital’s generators.
According to James Cleverly, the aid entering Gaza via the Rafah gate is a “lifeline.”
However, he stated that in order to offer humanitarian aid, access had to be preserved.
“Trucks carrying life-saving aid are starting to cross at Rafah into Gaza,” he declared.
For individuals in need, this assistance is a lifeline.
But it can’t happen just once.
The United Kingdom is still advocating for humanitarian access to Gaza.
“I am confident that this delivery will be the start of a sustainable effort to provide essential supplies… to the people of Gaza,” stated UN humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths.
He did, however, add, ‘This first convoy must not be the last.’Spokesman for ActionAid Palestine, Riham Jafari, referred to the Rafah border convoy as “barely a drop in the ocean” and demanded the establishment of humanitarian corridors and a truce.
The 20 trucks “will not change the catastrophic medical conditions in Gaza,” according to the Hamas communications officer.
For the past two weeks, Israel has closed off the area, forcing the 2.3 million Palestinians—of whom half have fled—to ration their food and sip tainted water from wells.
Amid a territory-wide blackout, hospitals report that their supplies of medication and gasoline for emergency generators are running low.
Many Gaza residents, who are only able to eat one meal a day and do not have access to clean water, are eagerly awaiting the relief that was spotted entering Gaza this morning.
Twenty trucks belonging to the Egyptian Red Crescent, which is in charge of transporting aid from different UN organisations, pulled into the terminal in Egypt.
The announcement of the US Embassy was made as anticipation for a ground invasion, which Israel claims is intended to destroy the terrorist organisation that has controlled Gaza for 16 years, was rising.
Israel declared on Friday that it had no intention of assuming permanent control of the little region.
Early on Saturday, there were reports of two significant explosions in northern Gaza, and missiles activated air raid sirens in an Israeli community nearby.
The likelihood of an Israeli ground attack is likely to cause both sides’ deaths in urban combat to dramatically increase.
According to Israel, Hamas has been relentlessly attacking Israel with rockets, firing over 6,900 missiles into the country since October 7.
Defence Minister Yoav Gallant presented a three-stage plan to parliamentarians about Israel’s long-term plans for Gaza, which appeared to rule out Israel reoccupying the territory it left behind in 2005.
First, the goal of Israeli airstrikes and “manoeuvring”—a projected ground attack—would be to destroy Hamas.
A more subdued battle to eliminate any last pockets of resistance will follow.
Finally, according to Gallant, “the removal of Israel’s responsibility for life in the Gaza Strip” will be accompanied by the creation of a new “security regime” in Gaza.
Gallant did not specify the nature of the new security regime or who Israel anticipated to lead Gaza in the event that Hamas was overthrown.
From 1967 to 2005, when it evacuated its forces and dismantled settlements, Israel occupied Gaza.
After two years, Hamas came to power.
There are Israelis who attribute the five wars and innumerable minor skirmishes that have occurred since the departure from Gaza.
Since Israel cut off supplies, the humanitarian situation for Gaza’s civilian population has gotten worse every day.
In Gaza, more than a million Palestinians have lost their homes.
Numerous people followed Israel’s directives to leave the walled-in enclave on the Mediterranean Sea shore, moving south to north.
However, Israel has persisted in bombing locations in southern Gaza where Palestinians were instructed to seek shelter; as a result of the airstrikes and the unfavourable living circumstances in the south, some Palestinians appear to be returning to the north.
Overburdened hospitals in Gaza were allocating what little resources they had left.According to hospital director Mohammed Abu Selmia, the generators at Shifa Hospital, the biggest in Gaza, were running at the lowest level to save fuel while still powering essential departments like intensive care. Some people laboured in the dark.
He claimed that treating the large number of casualties of the Israeli strikes is challenging due to a shortage of water and medical resources.
According to the Palestine Red Crescent Society, the Israeli military has threatened to bomb Al-Quds Hospital.
The hospital in Gaza City, which is home to over 400 patients and hundreds of displaced civilians who have sought safety on its premises, has been ordered to leave immediately by Israel, according to the statement.