Hamas tried to send fighters to Egypt under the guise of refugees

The process of taking foreign citizens to Egypt through the Rafah crossing from the Gaza Strip has been halted due to Hamas' attempt to pass off its wounded fighters as refugees. This was reported by The New York Times.

An official from the administration of US President Joe Biden said that almost from the very beginning of the escalating conflict in the Middle East, Hamas militants have been preventing foreign citizens from leaving the Gaza Strip. The terrorists have also repeatedly provided Israel, the US and Egypt with lists of wounded Palestinians to leave the Gaza Strip together with foreign citizens. At the same time, according to the publication's source, a check showed that a third of the people on the lists turned out to be Hamas militants.

In response to the ban on the removal of militants, Hamas has blocked exit for foreigners from its territory.

As CNN writes Hamas intends to block the exit of foreign citizens from the Gaza Strip until the wounded militants are evacuated to Egypt.

Recall, 7 October Hamas militants attacked Israel, as a result of which hundreds of people were killed and wounded, and many kidnapped. In turn, the Israeli army announced an operation to destroy the infrastructure of Hamas and launched an invasion of the Gaza Strip. After that, foreign countries declared the need to withdraw foreigners from the fire. People began to be released in small groups to Egypt. The first evacuation took place only on 1 November. Ukrainians were not among the first to leave.