Roughly 1,000 Americans are trapped in Gaza without a way out as Hamas terrorists refuse to operate the region’s exit route into Egypt, Secretary of State Antony Blinken told the Senate Appropriations Committee on Tuesday.
Roughly 1,000 Americans are stuck in Gaza without a way out as Hamas terrorists refuse to open the region’s main exit route into Egypt, Secretary of State Antony Blinken told the Senate Appropriations Committee Tuesday.
The figure was revealed by America’s top diplomat the same day the State Department operated its final evacuation charter flight out of Israel.
Hamas has refused to let anyone seeking to leave its territory through the Rafah crossing, where Israeli officials had told Gazans to flee to avoid its burgeoning ground offensive.
Among those caught in the middle are about 400 Americans and their families — about 1,000 people in all, Blinken said, as well as an estimated 5,000 citizens from other countries.
“We’re working with various parties to try to facilitate their departure from Gaza,” he said. “The impediment is simple: it’s Hamas.”
Blinken added that his department was “focused on this intensively” and working with regional partners to hash out a way to get the US citizens out of Gaza.
