Scores of foreign passport holders started leaving Gaza Wednesday after Egypt opened the Rafah crossing for the first time since October 7.
It was not immediately clear how many people managed to leave via Rafah on Gaza's southern border with Egypt, but live footage from the scene showed crowds of people entering the Palestinian side of the terminal.
Although more than 200 trucks of desperately needed aid have crossed into Gaza from Egypt, no people have been allowed to flee the battered enclave, with some 400 foreigners and dual nationals expected to make the crossing on Wednesday.
Foreign governments say there are passport holders from 44 countries, as well as 28 agencies, including UN bodies, living in the Gaza Strip where 2.4 million people have endured more than three weeks of unrelenting Israeli bombardment.
The tiny coastal territory has also suffered "catastrophic" shortages of food, water, and electricity following an almost total Israeli blockade in response to the attacks.
According to the health ministry, more than 8,500 people have been killed in the bombardments, two-thirds of them women and children.
Separately, Egypt said the first group of 81 seriously sick or wounded Palestinians would be allowed into Egypt for medical treatment on Wednesday, with television channels close to the Egyptian intelligence services broadcasting live images of a fleet of ambulances entering the terminal.
Palestinian sources said they expected 88 people to be taken across for treatment in Egyptian hospitals.
Qatar has mediated an agreement between Egypt, Israel, and Hamas, in coordination with the US to allow for the movement of foreign passport holders and some critically injured people out of besieged Gaza, a source briefed on the deal told Reuters on Wednesday.
The agreement would allow the movement of foreign passport holders and some critically injured people through the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and Gaza, though there is no timeline for how long the Rafah crossing will remain open for evacuation, the source added.
The agreement is not linked to other issues under negotiation such as the hostages or pauses designed to ease a humanitarian crisis in the enclave which is suffering from food, water, fuel, and medical shortages, said the source.
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