This did not happen, however, immediately. The Brazilians, who are in two groups, in the cities of Rafah and Khan Yunis, in the south of the Gaza Strip, have to wait for a break in the bombardment to move safely. The cities recorded the highest number of deaths due to Israeli bombing at the end of October. According to the Brazilian representation in Ramallah, in the West Bank, Brazilians reported heavy shelling “using some products that affect breathing: ‘like tear gas'”.
During this time, Brazilians suffered from difficult survival conditions. There are times when there is no energy, no communication. On the 27th, the Palestinian telephone company Jawal reported cutting all communications in the Gaza Strip.
The Brazilian Representative Office in Ramallah, in the West Bank, was only able to maintain contact with the Brazilians the following day. “We have re-established contact with our nationals in both cities, and we will continue to monitor the situation”, announced ambassador Alexandro Candeas, responsible for the office.
In Rafah, the group consisted of 18 people, of which nine were children. In Khan Younes, there are nine children, five girls and two boys. They are experiencing difficulties in getting water and food and have to rely on the support of the Brazilian representation in the West Bank to get basic food.
Brazilians are also suffering from Israeli bombardment, which has also hit southern Gaza. On the 30th, new bombings hit a building next to the residence of one of the Brazilian families in Khan Yunes. The incident was recorded by Hasan Rabee, 30 years old, who reported that he was afraid of the bombing.
“A bomb fell behind this building. Oh my God. The bombs didn’t stop. Do you see the way it looks? The bombs didn’t stop. The children are very scared”, reported the Palestinian naturalized Brazilian.
He went to the road to show the destruction of the building next to the one he was riding in. He said that the neighbors were trying to save the people who were hit by the bomb. “The house that was attacked is next to where we are. Many people were injured. Citizens provide humanitarian aid to save the injured. Absurd”, he lamented.
Hasan lives in São Paulo and went to Gaza with his two daughters and his wife to visit his family, a few days before the conflict started. The Brazilian naturalized Palestinian spoke
Agency in Brazil
that I can no longer find mineral water or cooking gas.
“We don’t have mineral water, because we can’t find it. Before, 500 liters (of drinking water) was 10 shekels, now 500 liters is 100 shekels, but you never think about that. There is no power to filter this water. It is very difficult to find the fruit in the market. The only thing we found in abundance was cucumber, the rest you can’t find easily”, he reported.
out
The delay in the inclusion of Brazilians has raised many expectations. The first list allowed a group of 450 foreigners to leave the Gaza Strip that day.
Besides foreigners, Palestinians who were seriously injured were also allowed to leave. Approximately 81 injured were taken in ambulances through the Rafah border crossing into Egypt.
On several occasions, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mauro Vieira, even announced the permission for Brazilians to cross the Egyptian border.
Speaking to Brazilian press outlets, the chancellor said he spoke by phone with the Israeli Foreign Minister, Eli Cohen, and he got this guarantee from him.
However, as the days passed, the names of the Brazilians did not appear in the lists. It does not appear in the second, third, fourth, or fifth.
The expectation continued in the following days, but, without the expected answer, the Brazilians remained trapped in the south of Gaza, which was also not on the sixth list.
This absence of names created discomfort in diplomatic relations between Brazil and Israel. Of the 3,463 foreigners allowed to leave the Gaza Strip on Wednesday (8), 1,253 had US passports, representing 36.1% of the total. Israel’s main ally in the country’s war against Hamas tops the list of nationalities allowed to leave the Palestinian enclave.
In addition to the United States, eight other countries have more than 100 nationals authorized to leave the region. These nine countries make up 86% of the total number of foreigners allowed to leave Gaza. The second most benefited nationality is Germany, with 335 people, representing 9.6% of the total.
In third place is Ukraine, with 329 people (9.5%) and, in fourth, Jordan, with 289 people allowed to leave Gaza (8.3%). Next is the United Kingdom with 241 people on the list (6.9%), Romania with 154 (4.4%), the Philippines with 153 (4.4%), Canada with 120 (3.4%) and France with 111 (3.2 %).
The delay was considered a form of “retaliation” by Israel for Brazil’s stance on the conflict with Hamas and occurred after criticism from President Luiz Inácio Lula Da Silva. The president said that the position of the Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, is to end the Gaza Strip and classified the act as “madness”.
Lula also defended the end of the veto power of members of the United Nations (UN) Security Council so that the entity can take a stronger position in relation to the conflict.
Come back
On social media, Rabee posted pictures of Brazilians after crossing the border. “May God release the people of Gaza and give them comfort,” he wrote.
He thanked President Lula for his commitment to return home. The president also stood, on Rede X (then Twitter), Lula thanked Itamaraty and the Brazilian Air Force (FAB).
“Congratulations to Itamaraty and the FAB for their exemplary dedication and competence in Operation Returning in Peace, which seeks and welcomes Brazilians who live in the conflict region and want to return to Brazil”, he wrote.
