Brazilians in Gaza await opening of Egyptian border to flee to Brazil

Authorization from the Egyptian government will allow the group to cross the border towards the airport of Cairo; Brazilian citizens will be flown home on the presidential plane. Brazilians in Gaza await opening of Egyptian border to flee to Brazil

Published in Oct 15, 2023 06:25 PM

Of the 32 people awaiting rescue, 16 (four men, four women and eight children) have been sent to Rafah, where they spent the night in a property rented by Itamaraty - Credit: personal archive

A group of 32 people are still sheltered in the cities of Rafah and Khan Yunis, in Gaza, awaiting authorization from the Egyptian government to cross the border and flee to the airport of Cairo. From there, they will be flown home to Brazil on the VC-2 presidential plane, which can transport up to 40 passengers.

In an effort to rescue the group, Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Minister of Foreign Affairs Mauro Vieira have been negotiating the opening of the border since last week. On Friday and Saturday, Lula addressed the issue over the phone in conversations with the president of Israel Isaac Herzog; the president of Egypt Abdul Fatah al-Sisi; and the president of the Palestinian National Authority Mahmoud Abbas.

Of the 32 people awaiting rescue, 16 (four men, four women and eight children) have been sent to Rafah, where they spent the night in a property rented by Itamaraty. They were rescued from Gaza City, where they took shelter in a school — the Rosary Sisters School, on the southern outskirts of the city — during the first days of the Israeli offensive.

The other 16 people (two men, five women and nine children) are residents of Khan Yunis and are awaiting release in their homes. The town is a few kilometers away from Rafah. The group is made up of 22 Brazilian citizens, seven Palestinians who live in Brazil and three relatives.

All have received psychological support from a Palestinian professional hired in Gaza through Brazil’s representative office in the Palestinian National Authority. Support from the Brazilian government also includes transport, shelter and food.

The Brazilian presidential VC-2 (Embraer 190) plane landed in Rome at 10:25 AM on Friday (October 13) local time. The aircraft is awaiting authorization following diplomatic procedures with Egypt, Israel and the Palestinian Authority, so that the Brazilian group may cross the border safely and fly from Egypt to Brazil.

OPERATION RETURNING IN PEACE — The journey by the Brazilians who are at Gaza’s border with Egypt should end the first phase of operation Returning in Peace (Voltando em Paz) — launched by Brazil following the new outburst of violence in the region. In the early hours of this Sunday (October 15), the fifth flight arrived in Rio de Janeiro, taking back home a total 215 Brazilians who were in Israeli territory. Altogether, 916 people were taken back to Brazil.

The first 211 repatriated Brazilian citizens disembarked from a FAB flight that arrived at Brasília’s Air Base last Wednesday. Another 214 arrived at Galeão Airport, in Rio, on Thursday.

The third rescue flight took 69 passengers and landed on Friday morning. Five got off in Recife at 6:07 AM, and the rest at the aircraft's final destination — the Guarulhos Air Base. The fourth plane with 207 Brazilian repatriates landed in Rio de Janeiro in the early hours of this Saturday (October 14).