In Gaza, Brazilians wait for authorization to cross the border

A group of 32 Brazilians remains sheltered in Gaza, awaiting authorization from the Egyptian government to cross the border and travel to Cairo airport. From there, they will be brought to Brazil on the Presidency of the Republic’s VC-2 plane, which has the capacity to transport up to 40 passengers.

The President of the Republic, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mauro Vieira, have been negotiating the opening of the border since last week in order to rescue the group. Between Friday and Saturday, the president addressed the issue in telephone calls with the president of Israel, Isaac Herzog, the president of Egypt, Abdul Fatah al-Sisi, and the president of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas.

Of the 32 people awaiting rescue, 16 (four men, four women and eight children) were moved to Rafah, where they spent the night in a property rented by Itamaraty. They were in Gaza City, where they took shelter in a school — the Rosary Sisters School, which is on the southern outskirts of the capital — during the first days of Israel’s offensive.

The other 16 people (two men, five women and nine children) are residents of Khan Yunis and are awaiting release in their homes. The city is a few kilometers from Rafah. In total, the group is made up of 22 Brazilians, seven Palestinians with RNM (the National Immigration Registry: they are foreigners with a temporary visa or residence permit visa) and three more Palestinians who are close relatives.

The 17 children have received psychological support, by a Palestinian professional hired in Gaza, by the Brazilian representative office at the Palestinian authority. Support from the Brazilian government also includes the rental of transport, shelter and food.

The Presidency of the Republic’s VC-2 (Embraer 190) plane was moved and landed in Rome, Italy, at 10:25 am this Friday (13th), local time. The aircraft is awaiting authorization for diplomatic procedures with Egypt, Israel and the Palestinian side so that Brazilians can cross the border safely and board from Egypt to Brazil.

The trip by Brazilians who are on the Gaza border with Egypt should end the first phase of the Returning in Peace operation, launched by the Federal Government after the start of violence in the region. In the early hours of this Sunday, the 15th, the fifth flight arrived in Rio de Janeiro, with 215 Brazilians who were in Israeli territory. In total, 916 people were brought back.