Hundreds of foreign passport holders hoping to escape to Egypt are not allowed through border as Israeli tanks line up ready to plough into besieged Palestinian enclave after Hamas attacks Hundreds of foreign passport holders trapped in Gaza who were hoping to escape to Egypt have not been allowed to evacuate despite the Rafah border being opened up this morning to allow humanitarian aid into the besieged Palestinian enclave.
The US Embassy had earlier urged foreign nationals to make their way to the Gaza-Egypt border to flee as Israeli tanks prepare to launch a ground invasion in retaliation to the despicable terror attacks carried out by Hamas on October 7.
Tens of thousands of Israeli soldiers are readying themselves for battle while scores of tanks are lined up ready to plough into Gaza.
The Rafah border opened just after 10am local time (8am BST) to let the 'life-saving' aid in to Palestinians running short of food, medicine and water. The convoy of 20 trucks is the first to enter Gaza since the war erupted two weeks ago.
Urging foreign nationals to escape Gaza if they can, the embassy warned: 'If the border is opened, we do not know how long it will remain open for foreign citizens to depart Gaza.' It has since emerged foreign nationals were denied access to Egypt.
Authorities had told trapped US nationals to expect a 'potentially chaotic and disorderly environment on both sides of the crossing'. There are an estimated 600 Americans in the enclave.