Egypt is preparing to receive seven thousand foreigners scheduled to be evacuated from the Gaza Strip through the Rafah border crossing, according to what the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced in a statement on Thursday.

The statement stated that Assistant Foreign Minister for Consular Affairs and Egyptians Abroad, Ismail Khairat, discussed during a meeting yesterday with foreign diplomats “preparations... aimed at facilitating the reception and evacuation of foreign citizens from Gaza through the Rafah crossing,” noting that their number is “about 7,000.” Foreign citizens with citizenship of more than 60 countries.

Egypt's reception of a number of wounded and foreigners arriving from the Gaza Strip, as well as the introduction of new aid shipments into the Strip, showed a “relative breakthrough” in the crisis at the “Rafah crossing” linking Egypt and the Palestinian territories.

While Egypt continued to bring shipments of relief and medical aid into the Gaza Strip, US President Joe Biden said that he expected his country’s citizens to leave the Gaza Strip starting yesterday, and in the coming days. Britain and France also reported that their citizens would leave the Gaza Strip in stages.

During more than 26 days of Israeli bombing of Gaza, Cairo held Tel Aviv responsible for the slow entry of aid or provision of medical support, and said, “The crossing is open from the Egyptian side, but Israel refuses or is intransigent regarding the entry of aid.”