The
agreement would allow foreign passport holders and some
critically injured people to leave through the Rafah border
crossing between Egypt and Gaza, though there is no timeline for
how long it will remain open for evacuation, the source added.
The deal is not linked to other issues under negotiation such as
hostages held by Hamas, the Palestinian Islamist group that
governs Gaza, or pauses designed to ease a humanitarian crisis
in the enclave which is suffering from food, water, fuel and
medical shortages, the source said.
Israel sent its forces into Gaza following weeks of air
bombardments in retaliation for a major attack by Iran-backed
Hamas on Oct 7.
Hamas has told mediators it will soon release some of the 200 or
so foreign captives it had seized during the attack on Israel,
Abu Ubaida, the spokesperson of the group's armed wing, al-Qassam
Brigades, said in a video on the Telegram app on Tuesday. He
gave no further detail on the number of captives or their
nationalities.
Egypt has prepared a field hospital in Sheikh Zuwayed in the
Sinai, according to medical sources. Ten ambulances were sent to
Rafah on Tuesday in anticipation.
Israel besieged Gaza after the Hamas attack, and the U.N. and
other aid officials have said civilians in the enclave are
living in a public health catastrophe, with hospitals struggling
to treat casualties as electricity supplies peter out.
On Wednesday, communications and internet services were
completely cut off in the enclave again, Gaza's largest
telecommunications provider Paltel said.
Israel has vowed to annihilate Hamas after several inconclusive
wars dating back to the militant group's 2007 takeover of Gaza.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has dismissed international
calls for a "humanitarian pause" in fighting to enable emergency
aid deliveries to civilians.
(Reporting by Andrew Mills in Doha and Nafisa ; Writing by
Nadine Awadalla; editing by Christian Schmollinger and Jason
Neely)
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