There is still no clarification about the evacuation of Norwegians in the Gaza Strip, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs tells Nettavisen on Thursday afternoon. The staff at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs are working hard, but the situation is described as “very demanding”.
Latest news about the war between Israel and Hamas
– We have a team that works on this around the clock and is in contact with the Norwegian citizens who are in the Gaza Strip. They say that they are in a desperate situation. They lack food and medicine. Our operational center tells of heartbreaking conversations. People are terrified and say they hear bombs in the immediate area, says Cecilie Skjennald at the communications unit at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Around 250 Norwegian citizens are still in Gaza and are waiting to get out. Among these, around half are children. The evacuation of foreign nationals has started, but it has not gone as quickly as hoped.
The evacuation via the Rafah border crossing was resumed on Monday after being closed at the weekend, and earlier this week there was talk that the group of Norwegian citizens could be released on Tuesday at the earliest. On Thursday, it was still unclear when the evacuation could take place.
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Works intensively for Norwegians
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs states that intensive work is being done to ensure that Norwegian citizens who have requested it will be granted permission to leave Gaza. The agreement is that Egypt must notify Norway in advance. Citizens from many countries are going out, and the evacuation takes place in pools.
“We will send a new message to Norwegian citizens when we know more”, writes the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on its website.
UT gives this advice to citizens who are in Gaza and want to return to Norway:
“Everyone must make thorough assessments of their own safety. If you are still in the north of Gaza, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs recommends that you think through how you can travel closer to Rafah in the safest possible way. Traveling within Gaza can be very dangerous. It can take time to get from north to south. In periods the travel route may be closed”.
The Foreign Ministry emphasizes that the Norwegian authorities are not present in Gaza:
“We communicate regularly via SMS, e-mail and WhatsApp with Norwegian citizens inside Gaza”, it is stated.
2023-11-09 12:09:02
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