WASHINGTON – President Biden said Friday that American citizens still in the Gaza Strip are “returning home,” hours after the Israeli military surrounded Gaza City in its campaign against the Hamas terrorist group.
“They will come home,” Biden told reporters during a group photo with Western Hemisphere leaders at the White House, even though hundreds of Americans still remain in the war zone.
Hamas allowed 74 Americans to leave through Egypt on Thursday after an initial group of five was released on Wednesday, US officials said. It is unclear how many additional departures may have occurred since then.
About 400 U.S. citizens and 600 of their family members were trapped in Gaza, Secretary of State Antony Blinken told lawmakers on Tuesday.
Israel is heavily bombing the densely populated region of more than 2 million people in a campaign to oust Hamas from power after its Oct. 7 attack on communities across southern Israel, which killed more than 1,400 people, including at least 33 Americans.
We gratefully welcome the first groups of American citizens who have been able to leave Gaza safely through the Rafah border crossing. Grateful to the Egyptian authorities for their collaboration in ensuring the safe transfer of US citizens to Egypt and then… pic.twitter.com/oYxxd424TF
— US Embassy in Cairo (@USEmbassyCairo) November 3, 2023
Although Israel had warned civilians before its ground invasion to leave the northern half of the territory, including Gaza City, many did not do so.
Biden on Thursday described American citizens who had left Gaza as “dual citizens.”
“They will come home,” Biden told reporters during a group photo with Western Hemisphere leaders at the White House.Getty Images
On Friday morning, the U.S. Embassy in Cairo captioned a photo of a woman and two children: “We gratefully welcome the first groups of American citizens who have been able to leave Gaza safely through the crossing.” Rafah border crossing.
Hamas is holding up to 10 more US citizens kidnapped in southern Israel, the White House has said, although the exact number remains unclear.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn