Watch: Palestinians gather at Rafah border, hoping to cross into Egypt
Palestinians, some with foreign passports hoping to cross into Egypt and others waiting for aid wait at the Rafah crossing in the southern Gaza strip, on October 16, 2023. Picture: Mohammed Abed/ AFP via Getty
Fleeing Israel's continuous shelling of Gaza, many Palestinians and foreign nationals flocked towards the Rafah Crossing on Monday, hoping to make it across the Egyptian border.
"There is no safety, even when you're at the crossing you're afraid. On our way to the crossing they shelled Rafah Street and we started screaming. We came to the crossing and thought it was safe. Nowhere is safe in Gaza. Wherever we go there's shelling, shelling, crying, screaming, blood. Said Gazan resident Hadeel Abu Dahoud.
Zakariya Al Araisha, U.S. Resident said, "I came to visit my family - my sister, my brother, my.. And I just like before the war like a couple days and I want to spend like two weeks with my family here and enjoy. I enjoy here with a war, with a war I can't sleep, a lot of bombs, no water, no food, no nothing, no life here, no life. I don't know how they're thinking about people all over the world. They have like a country, people leave, they go visit family, they go everywhere. In Gaza Strip in Palestine, this is like, they think it's not people here. There's people here. There's people here living. It's not a life."
International efforts have been calling for a humanitarian ceasefire to allow safe passage for aid and those who want to make it out of Gaza. On Monday, Egypt, Israel and the U.S. agreed to a ceasefire in southern Gaza beginning at 0600 GMT coinciding with the re-opening of the Rafah border crossing, two Egyptian security sources said, to allow in aid and evacuations of foreigners. However, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu seemed to deny an agreement.
"There is currently no truce and humanitarian aid in Gaza in exchange for getting foreigners out," a statement from his office said.
