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Teams of border force officers have been deployed to Egypt, in a position to help at least 200 Britons stranded in Gaza, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak revealed.
Speaking yesterday, the Prime Minister said: “We have groups of border forces pre-positioned in Egypt. Therefore, if there is an option for our nationals to pass through the Rafah crossing, we are in a position to bring them back and forth.
The Rafah crossing between Egypt and Gaza is likely the main exit point for those stranded in Gaza, but it remains closed for aid delivery.
Thousands of people have been killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza in retaliation for Hamas raids into Israel earlier this month, in which more than 1,400 people were killed and at least 200 hostages, in addition to several Britons.
And this week, Israeli tanks launched an attack on Gaza, ahead of a long-awaited ground invasion, as part of an operation to “prepare the battlefield,” according to the Israel Defense Forces.
Sunak calls for “targeted pauses” in the fighting to create a “safer environment” to allow Britons to leave Gaza. He warned: “There’s a lot of complexity on the ground and around the security scenario there, so it’s not something we can do immediately. The Prime Minister stressed: “When the time comes, we will be in a position to do it quickly. We will do everything we can to get our citizens out.
Today, Education Secretary Gillian Keegan said the government had had “intense discussions” with partners in the region and called for border force officials to be “primed and ready” on the ground “if and when we can get the hostages out. “
He added: “But for now we still want to reach an agreement on this and we still want it to be facilitated. “
Keegan admitted, “It’s very complicated operationally and that’s why we sent a plane loaded with aid, that’s why we sent the Border Force, that’s why we have other people there, our foreign progress secretary has worked with a lot of other people. other people in the area to make sure we can get that help to the right place.
As for how to do this and help bring Britons back to the UK, he said: “We’re counting on a pause and watching. “
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