At least 320 foreign nationals and some wounded leave Gaza for Egypt

At least 320 foreign passport holders and some injured Gazans left the Palestinian enclave through the Rafah crossing into Egypt on Wednesday, the first to benefit from a deal mediated by Qatar, three Egyptian sources and a Palestinian official said. Under the deal brokered between Egypt, Israel and Hamas, 81 wounded people and an initial list of 500 foreign passport holders were expected to be allowed out of the Gaza Strip in the coming days, sources in several countries said. A diplomatic source briefed on Egyptian plans said some 7,500 foreign passport holders would be evacuated from Gaza over the course of about two weeks, adding that Al Arish airport would be made available to fly people out. Diplomats said initial foreign national evacuees were expected to travel by road to Cairo and fly out from there. The limited evacuations are not expected to lead to a longer, unlimited opening of the crossing. Egypt, which along with Israel has upheld a blockade of Gaza since Hamas took power there in 2007, has rejected the idea of any mass displacement of Palestinians fleeing Gaza into its Sinai region.