Three Portuguese were killed in a bombing in the south of the Gaza Strip, an enclave where a war between Israeli forces and the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas has been raging since early October, the Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday.
These three Portuguese, as well as two Palestinians killed in the same bombing, were awaiting withdrawal at the direction of Portugal, Portuguese diplomacy said in a statement, lamenting the deaths.
Foreign Minister João Gomes Cravinho regretted the deaths of the three Portuguese citizens in Gaza, adding that “an adult and two children” of Portuguese nationality died, along with two relatives.
“The Portuguese government deeply regrets the death of five people this afternoon in Gaza, three nationals and two family members, as a result of bombings,” João Gomes Cravinho told journalists at a hotel in Bissau.
“What happened this afternoon with the deaths of three national citizens and two immediate family members of these citizens is further proof that this is not the right way to go. We must stop these bombings now,” he defended.
For João Gomes Cravinho, “pause, ceasefire, ceasefire, it doesn’t matter” what it is called, “as long as the result is to stop the bombings that cause civilian casualties.”
Exit from Gaza allowed for ten citizens under the Portuguese flag, two of whom are Portuguese-Palestinian
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MNE) also revealed in the same note that the Egyptian authorities, in cooperation with the Israeli authorities, had authorized the departure from Gaza for ten citizens who had been signaled by Portugal to withdraw from that territory – two of which are Portuguese, Palestinians.
“The exit should take place, under the coordination of local authorities, through the Rafah border crossing, in the coming hours, which will be open for the removal of foreign citizens from Gaza to Egypt,” the MNE stressed, noting that the exit should take place today takes place via the Rafah Pass.
“The Portuguese embassies in Cairo and Tel Aviv, as well as the Portuguese Diplomatic Representation in Ramallah and the Emergency Consular Office in Lisbon, are in contact with this group of citizens, as well as with the respective local authorities to complete the exit in safety,” assured him too.
‘The repatriation of citizens from this group who are leaving tomorrow [quinta-feira] and in the following days, from Egypt, it will be the responsibility of the Portuguese State, ensuring accommodation and transport to the national territory,” he added.
On October 7, fighters from the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) – in power in the Gaza Strip since 2007 and classified as a terrorist organization by the United States, the European Union and Israel – carried out an unprecedented attack on Israelis. since the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, which has left 1,200 dead, mostly civilians, around 5,000 injured and more than 200 hostages.
In retaliation, Israel declared a war to “eradicate” Hamas, which began with cuts to food, water, electricity and fuel supplies in the Gaza Strip and daily bombing, followed by a ground offensive around Gaza City.
The war between Israel and Hamas, which today enters its fortieth day and continues to threaten to spread throughout the Middle East, has so far left 11,320 people dead in the Gaza Strip, mostly civilians, 28,200 injured, 3,250 missing among others. the rubble and According to the latest report from local authorities, more than 1.6 million people have been displaced.
News updated at 00:38
Source: DN
