British to withdraw from Gaza ‘in stages’ – Foreign Ministry

The British people leaving Gaza will probably happen gradually in the next few days, said the UK Foreign Office.

The Rafah border crossing with Egypt will be open for specific and limited amounts of time for people to pass through. It will also let severely injured people leave the area.

On Wednesday, the first group of people from other countries and Palestinians who were hurt were allowed to cross.

Around 200 British people are thought to be in Gaza.

People in Gaza were not able to leave since 7th October because of the attacks by Hamas on Israel. Many people were killed and some were taken hostage.

The health ministry in Gaza, which is controlled by Hamas, reported that over 8,700 people have died since Israel started bombing in response.

Israel has complete control over the air and shoreline areas of Gaza. They closely monitor and restrict the movement of people and items.

The first vehicles carrying injured people from Gaza have now gone into Egypt

Around 500 people can go to the Egyptian side of the Rafah border every day.

The border authority in Gaza has made a list of many names. These names are of people who have dual citizenship or are from other countries. They are being told they can leave through the crossing on Wednesday.

Among them are two people from Britain who work for organizations that are not part of the government. We do not know the day when they will leave.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, Foreign Secretary James Cleverly, and Middle East minister Lord Ahmad had discussions with leaders from Egypt, Israel, and Qatar.

The Egyptian and Israeli authorities will create lists of people who are leaving, and they will inform the embassies ahead of time so they can get ready to welcome their citizens.

Mr Cleverly mentioned that teams from the UK in Egypt are prepared to help British people once they can return home.

“It is extremely important that urgent and life-saving help can reach Gaza as soon as possible,” he said in a statement on X, previously known as Twitter.

Officials from Western countries have sent a group of people to Arish, which is about 25 miles away from Rafah, to make sure they can give the required medical, consular, and administrative help.

Both Mr Sunak and Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer want to temporarily stop the fighting in Gaza so that humanitarian assistance can be provided.

Humanitarian pauses are shorter than formal ceasefires. They often only last for a few hours.

According to the United Nations, these actions are usually done solely to help people in need, rather than to find permanent political solutions.