First British nationals enter Egypt from Gaza after Rafah crossing opens
It appears to be the first time foreign passport holders have been allowed to leave Gaza, ITV News' John Irvine reports
The first British nationals have left Gaza via the Rafah border crossing from Gaza into Egypt, the Foreign Office has said, as over 335 people left through the crossing on Wednesday.
Communications in Gaza are gradually being restored after services were wiped out for a second time in five days, following another night of Israeli airstrikes.
Israel has taken responsibility for an airstrike which struck a refugee camp, claiming to have targeted a Hamas commander. Gaza's Health Ministry said the strike left at least 50 dead after several apartment buildings were destroyed, while the UN's high commissioner for human rights has since said the attack could amount to a war crime.
President Joe Biden has suggested a humanitarian “pause” in the fighting, though the White House later clarified he was referring to getting the 240 Hamas-held hostages out.
Gaza's Health Ministry said the Palestinian death toll has surpassed 8,800 - most of them women and children. More than 1,400 people died in Israel during attacks by Hamas on October 7 - including 326 soldiers - according to the Israeli government.
The first British nationals have left Gaza via the Rafah border crossing from Gaza into Egypt, the Foreign Office has said.
Officials said the crossing will be open for “controlled and time-limited periods” to allow specific groups of foreign nationals and the seriously injured to leave Gaza.
At least 335 foreign passport holders left Gaza through the Rafah crossing into Egypt on Wednesday, said Wael Abu Omar, a spokesman for the Palestinian Crossings Authority. This included 22 volunteers from Doctors Without Borders, the group said.
Hundreds more will leave on Thursday as Israel's ground troops advance toward Gaza City.
Egyptian state-run media had earlier broadcast footage of injured Palestinians being driven through the crossing in ambulances.
A spokesperson for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) said: “We will continue working with partners to ensure the crossing is opened again, allowing vital aid into Gaza and more British nationals to leave safely. We are regularly updating all British nationals registered us."
It comes as Israeli airstrikes hit apartment blocks in a refugee camp near Gaza City for a second day in a row, causing many deaths and injuries, the Hamas-run government has said.
Television news station Al Jazeera television has shown videos nearly identical to the day before, with dozens of men digging through the grey rubble of demolished multistory buildings in search of survivors.
On Tuesday, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) admitted responsibility for the airstrike and claimed it killed a senior Hamas commander and destroyed an underground tunnel network.
The exact death toll from the attack is unknown, but the Gaza Health Ministry has said that dozens were killed.
The UN's high commissioner for human rights has since said the attack could amount to a war crime.
"We have serious concerns that these are disproportionate attacks that could amount to war crimes," a statement from the commissioner's office said on X, formerly Twitter.
The opening of the Rafah crossing on Wednesday was the first time foreign passport holders have been allowed to leave Gaza, since the war between Israel and proscribed terror group Hamas began.
Hundreds more foreign nationals are expected to leave Gaza by the end of Thursday, according to the Palestinian Crossings Authority.
Rishi Sunak told ITV News he’d spoken to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about securing the release of trapped Britons and hostages.
The PM has been urging Israel to carry out a “humanitarian pause” of its attacks to allow aid to reach Gaza, as has President Joe Biden, who suggested the same when asked about the conflict at a campaign event on Wednesday night.
Asked what a pause would look like, Mr Sunak said: “The situation on the ground is incredibly complex. We’ve got Hamas there, which is not obviously the most reliable partner to deal with.
"We’re talking to everyone to see what is possible, because its a question of not just getting aid in, what’s important to me also is being able to bring our British nationals and the hostages out of Gaza."
Footage from Egyptian state-run media shows ambulances carrying injured Palestinians as they arrive in Egypt from Gaza
Mr Sunak said he was “hopeful that we’ve made some progress” on the release of anyone trapped in Gaza.
Foreign Secretary James Cleverly had said on Wednesday: "UK teams are ready to assist British nationals as soon as they are able to leave".
In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, he said: "It's vital that lifesaving humanitarian aid can enter Gaza as quickly as possible."
Israeli forces have continued to push further into northern Gaza, with Tel Aviv saying it has hit more than 11,000 targets since its war against proscribed terror group Hamas began.
Hours after the strike, Hamas said it will release some non-Israeli hostages in the coming days.
"We’ve got Hamas there, which is not obviously the most reliable partner to deal with," says Rishi Sunak
It comes as communication services are gradually being restored in Gaza, after Israeli airstrikes wiped out capabilities.
On Wednesday, Paltel, a Palestinian telecoms company, said internet and mobile phone services were slowly being restored, having been wiped out for the second time in five days. Communications had also been disrupted over the weekend.
A spokesperson for the group did not specify how many hostages will be released, but said it no longer had the "desire" or "need" to keep them.
Hamas militants took an estimated 240 people captive on October 7 during attacks in southern Israel.
Israeli forces have advanced to the outskirts of Gaza City in recent days, where officials claim Hamas' military infrastructure is concentrated.
Some 800,000 people have fled from north to south in the Gaza Strip, since the Israeli military ordered civilians to evacuate, although hundreds of thousands remain in the north.
Gaza has been blockaded by Israel for several weeks, causing shortages of food, water, medicine and fuel.
Israel has allowed more than 200 trucks carrying food and medicine to enter Gaza from Egypt over the past 10 days, but aid workers say it is not enough.
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