They left hell behind. New group of people with dual citizenship left today from the Gaza Strip to Egypt via the Rafah border crossing, and in many of them smiles of relief at the end of the ordeal were visible.

The passage opened yesterday Wednesday for the first time since the war between Israel and Hamas broke out, so that to allow foreign passport holders to leave the Palestinian enclave bombed by Israel.

THE Wail Abu Mohsenrepresentative of the administration on the Palestinian side of the Rafah border crossing, said in a statement that two buses carrying a total of “100 travelers of foreign nationalities” crossed the border crossing into Egypt in the morning.

Egyptian official at the Rafah border crossing, the only one not controlled by Israel, stated at the same time that “400 foreign passport holders expected to pass today, as well as 60 injured”, noting that these numbers may change.

The head of the administration on the Palestinian side of the crossing, Hisham Adwan, also stated that 400 foreigners and dual nationals are expected to cross the border crossing today, as well as around 100 injured.

Yesterday 76 Palestinians in ambulances and over 300 foreigners and dual nationals were evacuated through the Rafah crossing for the first time since the war began.

Rafah

Earlier in a meeting with foreign diplomats, the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Egypt Ismail Khairat said Egypt is preparing to “facilitate the reception and removal of foreign citizens from Gaza through the Rafah crossing.” and added that they are “about 7,000”“over 60” nationalities.

According to the Egyptian Deputy Foreign Minister, of the 76 Palestinians who were evacuated yesterday by ambulances, 46 were injured and 30 accompanied. Khairat he also clarified that 361 foreigners and people with dual citizenship were removed yesterday from the Rafa border crossing, and not 335 as previously reported.

Among the foreigners are around 30 Austrians, 4 Italians, 5 French as well as German nationals, the number of which was not specified.

Rafah

US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller stated that American citizens also left Gazawithout specifying a number.

The overall death toll in Gaza rose to 9,061 while 32,000 people have been injured since the start of the war with Israel, the official spokesman for the health ministry in Gaza said today.

The dead include 3,760 children and 2,326 womenthe spokesman said.

In Israel, over 1,400 peoplei, mostly civilians, were killed in the Hamas attack, according to Israeli authorities.