Tel Aviv: In the wake of Israel Hamas war in the Gaza strip which claimed loss of thousands of lives on both sides including civilians, an agreement has been reached under which Israel will allow foreigners to leave the war-torn Gaza, Times of Israel reported on Saturday.
Egypt, Israel and the United States have agreed to allow foreigners residing in Gaza to pass through the Rafah border crossing into Egypt, under which Israel agreed to refrain from striking areas the foreigners would pass through on their way out of the Palestinian territory.
The Israeli publication added that Qatar was involved in the negotiations and the participants received approval from the Palestinian terror groups, Hamas and Islamic Jihad.
Moreover, the agreement does not involve anything about the release of hostages being held by Hamas. A second official at the Egyptian side of the Rafah crossing point says they received "instructions" to reopen it on Saturday afternoon for foreigners coming from Gaza.
The first official said negotiations were still underway to allow the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza through the crossing point. Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief the media. Israel has ordered a mass evacuation of Palestinians from the northern Gaza Strip.
Additionally, US State Secretary Antony Blinken during his visit to Qatar on Saturday said that they are working on setting humanitarian corridors to save the lives of civilians suffering due to the war.
"As Israel pursues legitimate right to defend its people and to try to assure this never happens again. It is important that all of us look out for civilians, and we're working together to do exactly that. In particular, working on establishing safe areas in Gaza, working on establishing corridors so that humanitarian assistance can reach people who need it," he said.
He added, "None of us wants to see suffering by civilians on any side, whether it's in Israel, Gaza or anywhere else. And we're working together to do our best to protect them. At the same time, it's vitally important, that we work together to make sure that, to the best of our ability, this conflict does not spread to other places on other fronts. In addition, the United States and Saudi Arabia are working together very closely in a number of other critical areas where it's so important to try to bring greater peace, stability, and security. That includes Yemen as well as Sudan."
Meanwhile, Israeli troops are mobilizing towards Gaza. Aerial patrolling is also being sent at the Gaza border. It was recently reported that Israeli soldiers, their tanks and munitions have been deployed near the Gaza border as they prepare for a full ground offensive against Hamas.
The IDF has confirmed that over 120 civilians are being held captive in Gaza by the Hamas terrorist organization. Israeli Defence Forces on Saturday said 1300 people have lost their lives and over 3000 have been injured in the Hamas terror attacks on Israel.
The Israeli Air Force has said that the IDF continues the effort to move the residents of the Gaza Strip in order to protect them in the Gaza Strip. The IDF said a call was sent out to residents of Gaza using a variety of different means in an attempt to minimize the harm to non-combatants. IDF said Hamas terrorists are hiding in terror tunnels located under the houses in Gaza City and in civilian buildings. (ANI)
