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Key Points
- About 20 Australians are understood to be trapped in Gaza.
- People have been told to be ready if a crossing opening does eventuate as it may not last long.
- Penny Wong says evacuation flights out of Israel remain subject to the changing security situation.
Australians trapped in Gaza have been given a glimmer of hope and told to move to the Egyptian-controlled Rafah border crossing in case a humanitarian window opens.
The federal government has backed negotiations between Egypt and Israel to open the crossing and provide a safe humanitarian corridor as Tel Aviv enforces a blockage against the Palestinian territory.
About 20 Australians are understood to be in Gaza but the number is not definitive, with poor internet and connectivity hampering consular efforts to determine how many remain trapped.
People have been told to be ready if a crossing opening does eventuate as it may not last long.
The Department Foreign Affairs and Trade has sent a message to Australians in the area to move to the Rafah crossing in southern Gaza if they “assess it to be safe,” the ABC reports.
“The situation is fluid and unpredictable but if you assess it to be safe, we strongly encourage you to move quickly to the Rafah crossing area now,” the DFAT message said, according to the ABC.
“We do not know when there will be another opportunity for you to depart Gaza or how long the crossing may be open.”
“Do not delay your departure because you are uncertain of arrangement after you cross into Egypt,” the message said.
“The Australian Government will provide details to you about the support that will be available to you in Egypt.”
Foreign Minister Penny Wong is working to support a US-led effort to open a humanitarian corridor, speaking to both Egypt and Israel to enable foreign nationals to leave Gaza.
“Australia calls for safe and unimpeded humanitarian access to Gaza and the rapid establishment of a humanitarian corridor,” she told parliament on Monday.
The government is also ready to provide additional assistance if needed, Wong said.
Egyptian security sources had told Reuters that an agreement had been reached to open the crossing to allow aid into the enclave.
But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office denied the development.
“There is currently no truce and humanitarian aid in Gaza in exchange for getting foreigners out,” it said in a statement.
Hamas official Izzat El Reshiq told Reuters that there was “no truth” to the reports about the opening of the crossing with Egypt or a temporary ceasefire.
Egypt has said the crossing remained open from the Egyptian side in recent days, but was rendered inoperable due to Israeli bombardments on the Palestinian side.
Hamas is a Palestinian military and political group, which has gained power in the Gaza Strip since winning legislative elections there in 2006. Its stated aim is to establish a Palestinian state, while refusing to recognise Israel’s right to exist.
Hamas, in its entirety, is designated as a terrorist organisation by countries including Australia, Canada, the UK and the US. New Zealand and Paraguay list only its military wing as a terrorist group. In 2018, the United Nations General Assembly voted against a resolution condemning Hamas in its entirety as a terrorist organisation.
The situation remained unclear at the Rafah crossing, the only one not controlled by Israel which has imposed a full blockade on Gaza, where food is running short.
Hundreds of tonnes of aid from several countries have been held up in Egypt for days pending a deal for its safe delivery to Gaza and the evacuation of some foreign passport holders through the Rafah crossing.
The United States has told its citizens in Gaza to get close to the crossing so they can move out. The US government estimates the number of dual-citizen Palestinian-Americans in Gaza at 500 to 600 among the enclave’s population of 2.3 million, and Washington hopes to get many of its nationals out of harm’s way.
Australia is also working to repatriate its citizens from both Israel and Gaza, with due to the changing security situation.
This includes if Israel closes its airspace as it prepares for ground invasion.
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