Portugal wants to withdraw from Gaza and welcome another ten to twelve Palestinians with relations with the country, its foreign minister said on Wednesday, confirming that all people of Portuguese nationality have already left the territory.
According to João Gomes Cravinho, the government had a “priority list” of 16 people of Portuguese nationality to be removed from the Gaza Strip, and the last one left on Tuesday.
“But we still have several other people, Palestinians, who we would also like to see removed from Gaza so that they can be safe and come to Portugal,” the minister told journalists in Madrid, where he attended a meeting today of the holders of the Foreign Affairs portfolio of the group of countries in the south of the European Union (EU), known as MED9.
João Gomes Cravinho said there are “10, 12 people” in Gaza and that Portugal wants to welcome them for humanitarian reasons because they have connections to the country, such as a residence visa or relatives on the national territory.
The minister declined to provide further details because there was “great sensitivity in the dialogue with the authorities” of Israel and Egypt, the two countries on which the Gaza withdrawal depends.
On Tuesday, a baby of Portuguese nationality was safely removed from Gaza. According to an official source from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, it was the last of the group of citizens sensitized by Portugal to leave this area.
This minor was allowed to leave, together with her relatives who were killed on Wednesday in bomb attacks in the south of the Gaza Strip, following the conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas in this enclave.
Another Portuguese national belonging to the priority group chose to remain in Gaza, the official Portuguese diplomatic source said.
On Thursday, the Foreign Ministry had announced the departure of eight Portuguese-flagged citizens – two nationals and six family members – through the Rafah crossing, which is open for the removal of foreign citizens from Gaza to Egypt.
In an information note, Portuguese diplomacy specified that the minor’s departure had not yet taken place due to difficulties in communicating with her family.
A bombing in the south of the Gaza Strip last Wednesday caused the deaths of three Portuguese, an adult and two children, and two relatives, who were included in the list provided by the Portuguese government to the authorities for the withdrawal from Gaza. Strip.
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 attack on Israeli territory of unprecedented scale since then. the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, which left 1,200 dead, mostly civilians, about 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.
According to the latest report from local authorities, the war between Israel and Hamas has so far left more than 14,000 dead in the Gaza Strip, mostly civilians, and more than 30,000 injured.
According to the United Nations, the war has already displaced 1.7 million people in Gaza.
Source: DN
