LONDON: About 200 British citizens have informed UK authorities that they are in Gaza, and Border Force officials have been dispatched to Egypt to assist them in leaving.
Downing Street clarified that the figure is only for those who have registered their whereabouts, and that the actual number of UK nationals in Gaza remains uncertain, the Guardian reported on Thursday.
“We obviously want to ensure that those British nationals that do want to leave can get out of Gaza. That’s something that we’ve been working on intensely over the past few days,” UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s official spokesperson told reporters.
“In terms of whether all of the numbers that are registered do want to leave, I can’t be definitive. But clearly, we are working to enable crossings to be able to open so that people can leave should they wish,” he said.
He added that this included discussions with the Israeli and Egyptian governments, as well with “regional leaders who have influence in Gaza.”
Although there have been no reports of any British nationals killed or missing, he emphasized the severity of the humanitarian crisis unfolding in the besieged Palestinian enclave.
Israel has allowed a small amount of aid to get through Rafah crossing in recent days, which UN chief Antonio Guterres said was “a drop of aid in an ocean of need,” and has not opened the crossing to people wanting to move from the territory into northeast Egypt.
Rishi Sunak said that Border Force officials had been stationed in Egypt with the hope of a “humanitarian pause” in Israel’s military operations to allow British nationals to leave.
Sunak said that for Britons to depart there “needs to be a safer environment, which of course necessitates specific pauses, which are distinct from a cease-fire,” the Guardian reported.
The prime minister added: “We’re very keen to be able to bring them out and bring them home. What I can tell you is we’ve pre-positioned Border Force teams to Egypt, so that if there is a possibility for our nationals to cross the Rafah crossing, we’re ready to get them in and bring them back.
“It is not something we can do immediately but when the moment arises, we’ll be ready to take it quickly.”
