EU welcomes opening of Rafah border crossing and safe passage of EU citizens

The EU welcomes the evacuation of a number of EU citizens and other foreign nationals, as well as injured persons via the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt.

The EU has tripled its humanitarian assistance to Gaza to €78 million, aiming to enable our partners to continue their invaluable humanitarian work.

The European Council Conclusions, adopted on 26 October, called for continued, rapid, safe and unhindered humanitarian access and aid to reach those in need through all necessary measures including humanitarian corridors and pauses for humanitarian needs.

The EU has launched a Humanitarian Air Bridge operation in aid to the people affected by the crisis, facilitating the delivery of humanitarian cargo supplied by partners.

Since 16 October, 6 flights carrying over 263 tonnes of aid reached Egypt. The operations aim to facilitate the prepositioning of aid in support of fast delivery of assistance to people in need in Gaza.

Furthermore, the EU Civil Protection Mechanism has been activated to offer support for repatriation flights from Israel.