A border wall stands between Rafah and Egypt, amid fears of an exodus of Palestinians into Egypt, as the conflict between Israel and Hamas continues, in Rafah southern Gaza Strip February 16, 2024 (photo credit: IBRAHEEM ABU MUSTAFA/REUTERS)
Published March 6, 2024
Since the October 7 massacre perpetrated by Hamas, Palestinian civilians who wanted to escape Gaza to Egypt have encountered difficulties doing so, as the cost to do so is from 6,000-7,000 dollars per person, according to a Tuesday N12 report.
The report claims that getting past the Rafah crossing is a “desire shared by many Gazan families, but for most of them is an unattainable fantasy.” However, some people who have managed to get to the other side have been Hamas terrorists and their families, N12 said, as the report claims that money is not an issue for the terrorist organization’s relatives.
Escapees include nephews and nieces of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, and according to the list obtained by N12, the children of Sinwar’s sister were smuggled through the Rafah crossing only recently.
Other escaped family members of Hamas’ officials
Additionally, the two children of the Hamas police spokesman, Ayman al-Batanji, also managed to escape. Under their names in the list, there is a crossed-out line. The N12 report estimates that this could be al-Batanji himself, but at the moment, it cannot be proven that he did manage to escape to Egypt.
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SOURCE: www.m.jpost.com
RELATED: Hopes reportedly fading to set up lull in Gaza fighting before start of Ramadan
Officials tell NY Times that negotiations are stuck on Hamas demands for a permanent ceasefire, full withdrawal of Israeli forces from Strip, and ‘provisions’ for Gazans
Published March 6, 2024
Hopes are dimming that an agreement to release hostages kidnapped by Hamas on October 7 and to secure a temporary truce to pause the fighting in Gaza can be reached before the start of Ramadan next week, according to a New York Times report late Wednesday citing US and Mideast officials.
The US has been pushing hard for an agreement before the Muslim fasting month begins on March 10, and has called on Hamas to accept the terms of a framework worked out in Paris last month that would put in place a six-week pause in fighting and free some 40 hostages, including women, children, female soldiers and elderly or ill abductees — in an initial phase in exchange for Palestinian security prisoners.
According to the report, the discussions have involved terms for releasing at least 15 Palestinian security prisoners convicted of serious acts of terrorism in exchange for the female soldiers taken on October 7, and for Israel to free hundreds of other detainees or prisoners, “at an average of 10 Palestinians for every Israeli civilian freed,” officials told the publication.
But as talks appeared to stall given Hamas’s insistent demands for a permanent ceasefire, those hopes have diminished, unnamed officials told the New York Times.
