Dozens of Palestinians clutching foreign passports gathered Friday at Gaza’s border with Egypt, the only crossing which can possibly open as Israel bombards the tiny territory.
The crowds were waiting at the cafeteria of the Rafah border crossing, which has been hit multiple times since Israel began an intense bombardment of the enclave following the deadly Hamas attacks of October 7.
“They told us at the embassy to head to the crossing. We sleep here despite the danger,” said 29-year-old Mahmud Salah Ibrahim Abu Musallam, who has Swedish citizenship and urged European embassies “to help us get out of here”.
On October 7, Hamas militants stormed into southern Israel and attacked border communities and army posts, with the death toll surpassing 1,400 people, mostly civilians, according to Israeli officials.
Since then, at least 4,137 Palestinians, mainly civilians, have been killed in two weeks of relentless Israeli bombardment, Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry.
Waiting at the crossing with her father Abu Musallam, seven-year-old Ghazal said she wanted to go to Sweden “because all the children die here”.
‘Nothing to drink’
For almost two weeks, Gaza’s 2.4 million residents have been trapped in dire conditions with the Rafah crossing the only hope for those looking to leave.
Egypt had promised to open the crossing on Friday, but later said it needed more time to repair the Palestinian part of the border road after it was damaged by Israeli strikes.
Those with dual nationality are hoping they will be allowed to leave when the Rafah border opens to let in the first international aid trucks from Egypt, expected in the coming days.
The idea that the first aid convoy might only contain 20 trucks with no fuel supplies has been criticised as woefully insufficient by the World Health Organization (WHO).
Dutch citizen Mahmud al-Attar, 70, expressed exasperation as he waited at the crossing with his wife and five children.
“The Dutch foreign ministry told us it was possible to travel through (Israel’s) Ben Gurion airport but how could we get there? The (Erez) crossing (into Israel) is closed,” he said, clearly frustrated.
There have been intense diplomatic efforts to open Rafah, including a visit to the Egyptian side on Friday by UN chief Antonio Guterres.
Hope rose that the crossing could soon open after Egyptian forces were seen removing concrete blocks from the road leading to the border, a security source told AFP.
But on the Gazan side, time is running out.
“There’s no other crossing but Rafah. We’re sleeping in the street. There’s no food and nothing to drink. What shall we do?” asked Attar.
