Lula discusses with Egyptian president the departure of Brazilians from Gaza

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) spoke by telephone with the President of Egypt, Abdel Fattah al-Sissi, this Saturday (14.Oct.2023). In the phone call made at 3:10 pm, the head of the Brazilian Executive asked the Egyptian government for help in the operation to remove almost 30 Brazilians from the Gaza Strip.

According to the Presidency of the Republic, Lula informed that, as soon as they manage to cross the Gaza border with Egypt through the city of Rafah, the citizens will be accompanied by the Brazilian ambassador to Egypt, Paulino Franco de Carvalho Neto, to El Salvador airport. -Arish, which is 53 km from the border with Gaza.

There, the group will embark for Brazil. The Brazilian government provided a presidential plane, the VC-2, with capacity for 40 people, to carry out the rescue. The aircraft took off from Brasilia on Friday (October 13, 2023) and is in Rome, Italy, where it is awaiting authorization to proceed to Egyptian territory.

A group of 28 people left northern Gaza on Saturday morning and arrived in Rafah, a city on the border with Egypt. The Brazilian Embassy in Palestine rented a house to house them while the group is not allowed to enter Egypt.

In the call with al-Sissi, the president reaffirmed the importance of establishing a humanitarian corridor for the exit of foreigners from the region and also so that aid with food, medicine and other types of supplies can reach the places where the Palestinian population is. confined. According to Planalto, the Egyptian president agreed with Lula’s request.

The Brazilian chief also said that, while Brazil is the president of the UN Security Council (United Nations), during the month of October, “will maintain tireless work” to avoid a humanitarian disaster and the spread of the conflict between the extremist group Hamas and Israel to other regions of the Middle East.

The 2 presidents also reaffirmed the formation of 2 states, Israel and Palestine, as a solution to the war. The position is historically defended by Brazilian diplomacy.

Earlier, Lula also spoke with the president of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, about the departure of Brazilians from Gaza. By telephone, Lula said he was concerned about the situation of civilians in the region and the ban on the entry of humanitarian aid.

Brazil sent this Saturday 2 kits with medicines and hospital supplies to serve 3,000 people for up to 30 days. The items, however, will only be able to reach Gaza through the border with Egypt. The Palestinian Authority is the political movement that officially represents the Palestinians and opposes Hamas.