Palestinian Americans and other dual citizens rushed to southern Gaza’s Rafah crossing with Egypt as 20 trucks loaded with humanitarian aid entered the besieged strip earlier today as the border opened for the first time since the start of the war.
It was not immediately clear if the Hamas authorities in Gaza or Egypt were preventing them from leaving.
Embassies had asked their citizens in Gaza to stand ready at the border, but crowds of disappointed Palestinians holding American, Canadian, German and British passports waited hours in vain for at least the fifth time this week.
“There is no opening of the crossing, and the suffering is the same,” said US citizen Dina al- Khatib. “They communicate with us, but there is no change.”
Al-Khatib said she and her family were desperate to get out.
“It’s is not like previous wars,” she said. “There is no electricity, no water, no internet, nothing.”
It's not (only) about you.
Supporting The Times of Israel isn’t a transaction for an online service, like subscribing to Netflix. The ToI Community is for people like you who care about a common good: ensuring that balanced, responsible coverage of Israel continues to be available to millions across the world, for free.
Sure, we'll remove all ads from your page and you'll unlock access to some excellent Community-only content. But your support gives you something more profound than that: the pride of joining something that really matters.
Join the Times of Israel Community
Join our Community
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
You're a dedicated reader
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you,
David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
Join Our Community
Join Our Community
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
From the Liveblog of
Saturday, October 21, 2023
