16 Dutch people escaped Gaza and crossed into Egypt on Thursday

16 Dutch people who got stranded in the Gaza Strip when the war between Israel and Hamas broke out crossed the border into Egypt on Thursday, according to outgoing Minister of Foreign Affairs Hanke Bruins Slot.

On Wednesday, the border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt opened for the first time since the violence started on October 7. On Thursday morning, the Palestinian Border Guard published a list of names of people who would be allowed to leave the Gaza Strip. The list contained 400 names of foreigners and Palestinians with dual nationalities.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs received 20 names and was in contact with each of them. 16 are being taken to Cairo, before eventually traveling to the Netherlands, according to the outgoing minister.

Bruins Slot emphasized that “every effort” is being made to get Dutch nationals and others with ties to the Netherlands on the lists, so they are eligible to cross the border. There are still at least 11 Dutch people stranded in Gaza. The Netherlands continues to “exert pressure on all parties” to ensure they can leave the Gaza Strip. However, the minister also wanted to manage expectations. “We have no control over when people, new Dutch nationals, can cross the border again,” says Bruins Slot.

Bruins Slot announced earlier on Thursday on X that she was “relieved to report” that the first Dutch people and their family members had safely left Gaza via Egypt.

Opgelucht om te kunnen melden dat de eerste Nederlanders en hun directe familieleden Gaza veilig hebben verlaten via Egypte. Zij worden hier persoonlijk opgevangen door een team van @MinBZ. Vanuit Egypte zullen zij doorreizen naar Nederland, begeleid door BZ en @Defensie.

— Hanke Bruins Slot (@HankeBruinsSlot) November 2, 2023

Outgoing Minister Liesje Schreinemacher for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation also called it good news that the Dutch had safely reached Egypt from Gaza in a post on X. She added that she will “continue to press with international partners for humanitarian pauses so that not only can people get out, but at the same time emergency aid can be delivered to Gaza without hindrance.”

Goed nieuws dat de eerste Nederlanders uit Gaza veilig zijn aangekomen in Egypte. We blijven met internationale partners aandringen op humanitaire pauzes, zodat niet alleen mensen naar buiten kunnen maar tegelijk noodhulp ongehinderd aan Gaza kan worden verleend. https://t.co/IBEcvtHPvB

— Liesje Schreinemacher (@LSchreinemacher) November 2, 2023

Outgoing Prime Minister Mark Rutte also reacted to the news. “Very good news that the first Dutch nationals and their immediate family have been allowed to leave Gaza via the border with Egypt,” he wrote an X. He acknowledged Egypt’s important contribution to the process and their care for the injured. Rutte also thanked Qatar for its role in mediating the evacuation of foreign nationals stranded in Gaza.

Very good news that the first Dutch nationals and their immediate family have been allowed to leave Gaza via the border with Egypt. A team from @minBZ met them at the border crossing. I am grateful to Egypt for the crucial role they played in this, and for receiving and treating…

— Mark Rutte (@MinPres) November 2, 2023