Spain has successfully completed the evacuation from Gaza of the 143 Spanish-Palestinians and their families who had asked to leave the Strip, as confirmed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. More than half are children. Is about citizens who were registered at the consulate from Jerusalem and who, after the start of the Israeli bombings on the Strip, on October 7, had expressed to the Spanish diplomatic service their intention to flee the war.
The last group of 29 people managed to cross the Rafah crossing this Wednesday, which connects the Palestinian enclave occupied by Israel with Egypt. Among them there are 14 minors.
It has not been easy. All the papers were in order and they had permits from the Israeli and Egyptian authorities, but several of them have been delayed in the crossing, diplomatic sources report. The rest have had to wait the entire day on the Egyptian side of the Rafah crossing.
On this Wednesday night they already made a long trip of more than 10 hours by bus to meet in Cairo with the rest of the Spanish-Palestinians evacuated from Loop. The next part of the operation is bring them to Spain on an Airbus 330 plane from the Ministry of Defense, like the one used for a first evacuation of Spaniards in Israel after the attacks by the militias of the Islamist group Hamas on October 7. They will fly “in the next few hours,” according to the Ministry headed by José Manuel Albares.
Evacuation in three phases
The Evacuation of the Spanish from Gaza has been carried out in three phases. The first group of 40 people, 22 minors, left on Monday. The second, of 74, on Tuesday. The last one, of 29, this Wednesday.
The rest of the Spanish-Palestinians, up to about 180, have decided to stay for the moment, but Foreign Affairs does not rule out that they will ask to leave in the future, given the harshness of the fighting. Therefore, for the moment, only this first phase of the evacuation is considered closed.
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There is no evidence that any Spanish-Palestinian has died in the Israeli bombings, which have already killed more than 11,000 people in Gaza and 1,400 in Israel in five weeks. A Spanish-Israeli woman and a Spanish man died in the Hamas attacks on October 7.
On the ground, the situation worsens. Israel has taken control of a Gaza City ravaged and attacks hospitals, where it says Hamas militants are hiding, but also increases bombing in the south, especially in one of the most important cities, Khan Younis.