Border opens to allow some people out

By mid-afternoon Wednesday, 335 foreign passport holders had left Gaza through the Rafah crossing into Egypt, according to Wael Abu Omar, a spokesman for the Palestinian Crossings Authority.

He said 76 Palestinian patients, along with their companions, have been evacuated for treatment in Egypt. Ten other patients set to be brought out died before they could be evacuated, Dr Mohamed Zaqout, a Health Ministry official in Gaza, told AP. The criteria for medical evacuation were not immediately clear.

The authority said the plan was for more than 400 foreign passport holders to leave for Egypt. The White House said it expected a “handful” of American citizens to be among them.

Hundreds more remain in Gaza, and talks on further evacuations were reportedly continuing among Egypt, Israel and Qatar, which has been mediating with Hamas. The US has said it is trying to get out 400 Americans with their families.

Egypt has said it will not accept an influx of Palestinian refugees because of fears Israel will not allow them to return to Gaza after the war. (AP)