First fuel truck enters Gaza as group of foreign passport holders wait to leave the enclave

(15 Nov 2023) RESTRICTION SUMMARY: ASSOCIATED PRESS Rafah, Gaza Strip - 15 November 2023 1. Various of fuel truck moving inside the city of Rafah 2. Various of convoy of aid trucks inside Rafah 3. Exterior of terminal at Rafah crossing 4. Various of foreign passport holders inside terminal 5. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Toqa al-Zaian, Palestinian with Norwegian nationality: “I feel like my body is leaving without my soul. Now I am leaving everything behind, my dream, family and everyone I know.“ 6. Establishing shot of Nesrain Abu Aouda, Palestinian who carries an Irish passport, and her child 7. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Nesrain Abu Aouda, Palestinian with Irish passport: “What is shocking is that the whole world is watching us, no one is moving or lifting a finger. You feel that people around the world are conspiring against the Palestinian people. We are calling upon the Arab states as well as the Europeans to try to stop this war. We are not asking for human assistance, we really need this war or this genocide that the Israelis are committing towards the Palestinian people to stop.“ 8. Foreign passport holders inside terminal 9. Various of foreign passport holders registering before boarding buses 10. People standing, bus in background STORYLINE: A fuel truck has arrived to the Gaza side of the Rafah crossing point on Wednesday as a group of foreign passport holders prepared to leave the besieged enclave. This is the first amount of fuel to enter the besieged enclave since the Israel-Hamas war started on Oct. 7, according to Wael Abu Omar, a spokesman for the Palestinian Crossings Authority. The war between Israel and Hamas erupted after the militant group killed some 1,200 people and seized around 240 captives in a surprise Oct. 7 attack. Israel has since killed thousands of Palestinians and unleashed widespread destruction in Gaza. Abu Omar said, a total of 644 people crossed over from Gaza into Egypt on Wednesday. These included 587 dual nationals, 37 people either injured or sick, and 20 of their companions. No more information was immediately available. Earlier at the Rafah border, dozens of evacuees were waiting patiently with their documentation ready for inspection. Toqa al-Zaian, a Palestinian with Norwegian nationality, is aware of how fortunate she is, but is still struggling to say goodbye. “I feel like my body is leaving without my soul. Now I am leaving everything behind, my dream, family and everyone I know,“ said al-Zaian. After refusing to allow fuel into Gaza since the war’s start, saying it would be diverted to Hamas, Israeli defense officials early Wednesday let in some 24,000 liters (6,340 gallons). The fuel will only be used for the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, known as UNRWA, to continue bringing limited supplies of food and medicine from Egypt. The agency is providing basic services to the more than 600,000 people sheltering in severely overcrowded schools and other facilities in the south. The fuel cannot be used for hospitals in the south or to desalinate water, said Thomas White, UNRWA’s director in Gaza. The amount is equivalent of “only 9% of what we need daily to sustain lifesaving activities,” he said. Conditions there have been deteriorating, as bombardment continues to level buildings. Residents say bread is scarce and supermarket shelves are bare. Families cook on wood fires for lack of fuel. Central electricity and running water have been out for weeks across Gaza. AP Video shot by Mohammad Jahjouh =========================================================== Find out more about AP Archive: Twitter: Facebook: ​​ Instagram: You can license this story through AP Archive: