Egypt's Border with Gaza Opened for a Select Few
Consider This from NPR
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4.2 • 6.2K Ratings
🗓️ 1 November 2023
⏱️ 9 minutes
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Summary
Hundreds of people – including wounded Palestinians and individuals with foreign passports – have now crossed into Egypt.
The opening of the Rafah Border is a small diplomatic success in a war that has claimed the lives of thousands of civilians. But it's unclear just how many people will be allowed to make the crossing.
Consider This co-host Mary Louise Kelly speaks with NPR's Aya Batrawy, who's in Dubai and has been reporting on the situation.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | After weeks of being bombarded by Israeli air strikes, some in the Gaza Strip are finally |
| 0:13.8 | able to leave the besieged territory. |
| 0:17.2 | Hundreds of people, including wounded Palestinians and individuals with foreign passports, have |
| 0:22.1 | now crossed into Egypt. |
| 0:24.7 | And you know, until now, Egypt had not opened its border to anyone wanting to leave Gaza |
| 0:29.4 | since this war began, which followed the Hamas attacks on October 7. |
| 0:34.0 | Jamila Mahasin, a 24-year-old doctor who has a Bulgarian passport, was one of those |
| 0:40.0 | allowed to leave. |
| 0:41.0 | It's not the greatest feeling, to be honest. |
| 0:43.4 | It's like I'm running away with my life, you know? |
| 0:46.0 | Okay, I've lost a house, but I have family here, have friends here, and it's not okay |
| 0:52.5 | to just leave a burning city away, you know? |
| 0:57.3 | I'm not 100% like okay with it, but here I am doing it, you know? |
| 1:03.4 | Though not everyone with a foreign passport has been able to leave, our producer, Anis Baba |
| 1:09.7 | in Gaza, also spoke with Wafa Abu Zayda, who's an American citizen. |
| 1:14.9 | If you're not going to go out today, are you going to be devastated? |
| 1:18.9 | No. |
| 1:19.9 | No? |
| 1:20.9 | I'm already passing the devastation and the disappointment and the whole, there is no |
| 1:25.7 | word in the dictionary right now. |
| 1:28.5 | Her sister-in-law, however, was on the list. |
| 1:31.6 | Well, my sister-in-law, she's a Jordanian, so we're waiting if she goes and abates she |
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