A group of Australians who were stuck in Gaza amid the ongoing war have made their way to Egypt.
At least 20 Australians were named in a spreadsheet of foreign nationals approved to enter Egypt via the Rafah crossing, AP reported.
An Adelaide family of four is among those who have made their way to Egypt, 7NEWS.com.au has confirmed.
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“(We) will be in Cairo in a few hours. Finally,” said the father who has been trapped with his family in Gaza since the Hamas attacks on October 7 after arriving in September for a four-week visit with his wife and two children.
The family of Sydney woman Sara El Masry also confirmed she, her husband and two children have also made it to Egypt.
“It’s exciting. We can’t wait to see them. We haven’t been able to speak to them, once they left the border is the last we heard of them,” Sara’s relative, Mariam El Masry said.
Hanaa Elmobayed, 53, from Melbourne is also among those who are on route to Cairo, her son Khalid confirmed.
The Australian government’s latest information indicates there were a total of 88 Australians trapped in the Strip.
Some of them have made several attempts to cross the Rafah Border Crossing since the war between Israel and Hamas began, but despite reports of the crossing opening, they were either turned away or the route was hit by ongoing Israeli air raids.
An Egyptian government official told CNN that a total of 361 foreign passport holders had left Gaza through the Rafah border crossing.
The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak to the media, said the passport holders would go to Cairo, where some will catch flights back to their home countries.
Their exit follows a deal brokered by Qatar between Israel, Hamas and Egypt, in co-ordination with the US, to allow for the release of foreign nationals and critically injured civilians from Gaza.
More to come…
– With CNN
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