It is not possible to say when Brazilians will leave Gaza, says minister

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mauro Vieira, said this Friday (November 10, 2023) that it is not possible to say when Brazilians in the Gaza Strip will be released to Egypt and brought back to Brazil. According to him, citizens have been on a list to leave the region since Wednesday (Nov 8) and had their exit guaranteed by the Israeli government, but the border is closed.

“The situation in Gaza does not allow me to say whether it will be today, or tomorrow, or when, it is a region in conflict and there are countless issues that make opening difficult”these.

Vieira stated that he has been negotiating with the Israeli Chancellor, Eli Cohen, the release of the Brazilians. Despite promises, Brazilians did not cross the border.

“Israel’s foreign minister last Friday [3.nov], over the phone, assured me that Brazilians would be on the list of foreigners authorized to leave the Gaza Strip, as of last Wednesday, which was not confirmed. They were on the list, but their departure was not confirmed because there was no opening for individuals of different nationalities to leave for 3 consecutive days.”he stated.

After that, according to Vieira, the expectation was that the Brazilians would cross this Friday morning (Nov 10), but that was not confirmed either.

“Yesterday he [chanceler de Israel] He informed me that they were authorized and that the names were in the possession of the authorities at the border, and that they would leave this morning, but that again they did not leave. Despite having been mobilized to the checkpoint region, they were unable to pass because the checkpoint was not opened.”these.

In total, 588 people are authorized to leave the Gaza Strip under the new list. In addition to the 34 members of the Brazilian group, the list includes citizens from the United States (14), Canada (265), Romania (101), Indonesia (6), Poland (26), Russia (82), India (7), Albania (14), China (10), Denmark (5), Germany (8), Netherlands (2), New Zealand (12) and Malaysia (2).

There is no information on when the group will cross the border. According to Vieira, as it is a region in conflict, it is not possible to specify when the Brazilians will be released. A Brazilian government plane is in Cairo, the capital of Egypt, waiting to bring the group to Brazil.

Palestinian naturalized Brazilian, Hasan Rabee published, at 2:52 am Brasília, a photo on his profile on Instagram. He is at the crossing between Rafah (Gaza) and Egypt and wrote: “At the border waiting for the opening”.

Below are the 6 lists of people allowed to cross the border: