WASHINGTON: US President Joe Biden said Thursday that 74 American citizens with dual nationality are among the people evacuated so far from the Gaza Strip to Egypt as the Israel-Hamas war rages.
"Good news, we got out today 74 American folks, dual citizens," Biden said in the Oval Office as he received Dominican President Luis Abinader.
The Rafah border crossing into Egypt opened up Wednesday after weeks of war, allowing out a trickle of wounded Palestinians and people with dual nationality, all desperate to escape the Israeli bombardment.
Speaking to reporters later Thursday National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said "So far 74 US citizens and family members arrived on the Egyptian side."
He added, "That's in addition to the five Americans who departed yesterday. I want to stress that these numbers are changing in real-time." Hundreds more foreigners and dual nationals fled Gaza Thursday.
Egypt said it eventually plans to help evacuate 7,000 foreigners through the Rafah crossing and a spokesman for the Palestinian side of the border post said about 100 had been able to leave Thursday.