Brazilians manage to leave Gaza and will spend Sunday in Egypt

Itamaraty reported this Sunday morning (12) that a group of 32 Brazilians and their families, after a long wait, managed to cross the border between Gaza and Egypt.

The original number was 34, but two people preferred to stay in the conflict zone “for personal reasons” — a 50-year-old woman and her 12-year-old daughter, according to the Brazilian ambassador to Palestine, Alessandro Candeas. Another 50 Brazilians and family members are awaiting evacuation on an upcoming list.

At three o’clock in the morning in Brasília, they passed through Rafah (a city in the south of Gaza with a passage to Egypt) and took a bus two kilometers to an Egyptian immigration post, where they were received by a team from the Brazilian embassy in Cairo. Until they arrive in the Egyptian capital, where they will spend the night, it will be another six hours of travel.

The flight to Brazil on a FAB plane is scheduled for Monday, at 11:50 am (local time). According to the Brazilian government, three technical stops will be made: in Rome, Italy, Las Palmas, Spain, and the Recife Air Base.

The group of 32 people should arrive at the Brasília Air Base at 11:30 pm this Monday. They must spend the night for two days in Brasília, in FAB accommodation, where they can rest. Once at the airport, you should meet a team from the Federal Police and the Federal Revenue to help you with the documentation. Doctors, psychologists and an immunization center are also planned.

Contact with Brazilian culture varies among those rescued, some are culturally Palestinian and have nowhere to live. The national secretary of Justice, Augusto Botelho, predicts that they will find shelter in the interior of São Paulo.

Foreign Affairs considers exit in expected time

In a press conference this Sunday afternoon, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mauro Vieira, emphasized that the group’s arrival took place after intense conversations between the heads of state of Israel, Egypt, Qatar and the Palestinian Authority. And in a time considered within what he expected.

“It’s a region at war, the circumstances are complex, there were agreements in the region that established that before opening the crossing for civilians there was a need for ambulances carrying the wounded to leave. But we count on both Israel and Egypt’s goodwill to resolve the issue. issue,” he said.

According to the minister, if the arrival of Brazilians or close Palestinian relatives did not happen before, the situation was not exclusive to the country. “There was a list of countries that were ready, waiting for departure. Some had 500, 600 nationals. And as requests were received, they entered into an order of priority that was followed and met. We left, I believe, between the eighth or tenth day of the passage of civilians, so I believe it is within what was agreed with the sides involved”, he emphasized.

Egypt’s border for the passage of injured people and foreigners was opened for the first time on November 1st.

There is no confirmation whether President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva will receive the refugees upon arrival in Brasília. According to the minister, it will depend on the presidential agenda.

Mauro Vieira also stated that the Ministry of Social Development and the Civil House will have a support and reception system to provide not only access for refugees to the Brazilian social support network, such as the health system and documentation service, but also the possibility of requesting a Refuge to find work in Brazil.

One of the returnees from the group arriving this Monday is Hasan Rabee, born in Gaza, who posted photos of the group and videos on Instagram. He thanked President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva for the rescue. On November 2, Rabee published a photo of Lula and commented in the caption that “Israel is playing a dirty game” and “if the price of defending humanity and injustice is delaying our trip and the departure of our families from Gaza, We don’t have any problems, we understand that.”

Four days after the Hamas terrorist attack last month, Rabee gave an interview to Globo News in which he said he had to change shelter after a bomb hit a neighboring house. The explosion reportedly left 12 dead and 60 injured. On that date (October 11), he said he was “without any hope of rescue” after Israel bombed the border region the day before.

The Israel Defense Forces justified the operation by saying that there was a tunnel through which terrorists were smuggling weapons and equipment. “The Rafah crossing is still open. Anyone who can leave, I recommend that they leave,” said IDF spokesman Richard Hecht.