Moments after President Joe Biden announced the Rafah crossing would open “for injured Palestinians and foreign nationals to exit Gaza,” hundreds of American families held their breath, anxiously waiting to be reunited with their loved ones stuck in Gaza. Was waiting to join.
Many people living in Gaza anxiously scanned the list of a few hundred names capable of leaving the territory. A list containing hundreds of names – including many US citizens – was released on Wednesday evening, and a second list was released on Thursday.
“We will not stop working to get Americans out of Gaza,” Biden said in a statement on Wednesday. It was the first day that Americans were able to leave Gaza after the siege in the wake of Hamas’ surprise terrorist attack on Israel. On 7th October.
But almost immediately, a challenging new reality emerged. Some US citizens said they faced leaving behind family members with whom they had traveled to Gaza if they crossed the border.
Mai Abushaban, who lives in the US, said as she carefully combed through the list of hundreds of names who could leave Gaza on Wednesday, she felt a new ray of hope that she would be able to see her mother and sister.