Opening the Rafah crossing is the “next step” to getting Britons trapped in Gaza to safety, the Security Minister said on Thursday.
Tom Tugendhat said the Government hoped the corridor between Egypt and Gaza would be opened in the “coming days” but there were “logistical issues” which made it difficult to give an exact timeline.
Around 10 of the more than 200 hostages kidnapped and taken to Gaza by Hamas are believed to be British citizens. Seven British nationals are confirmed to have died in the assault and at least nine are still missing, Downing Street said.
The Government estimates up to 60,000 UK nationals were in Israel or Gaza when the terror group launched its first attack on October 7.
Mr Tugendhat told the BBC: “The Prime Minister and the Government are in touch with many different people around the Middle East to make sure that we’re seeking to have as much leverage as we can to help British citizens caught up in this conflict in various different ways... Opening up that Rafah crossing for people to leave is the next step that we need to achieve.”
Foreign Secretary James Cleverly landed in Egypt on Wednesday night and was on Thursday holding meetings about opening the Rafah crossing to let Britons and others leave Gaza, as well as get more much-needed humanitarian aid into the region.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has confirmed that limited supplies of food, water and medicine would be allowed to enter the southern strip through the crossing with Egypt.
However, he said that no aid would come from Israel while Hamas was still holding its country’s citizens hostage.
US President Joe Biden helped secure an offer from Egypt to allow 20 aid trucks to reach Gaza at some point in coming days.
It is a fraction of the 100 per day that United Nations aid chief Martin Griffiths told the Security Council were needed.
The US also pledged $100 million in humanitarian assistance for Palestinians affected by conflict in Gaza and the West Bank.
More than one million Palestinians have fled their homes in the north of the strip after they were told by Israel to evacuate.
Food, water and power supplies are running dangerously low.
Israel launched a further round of airstrikes early this morning. Some appeared to be in the southern areas of the territory that had been declared “safe zones”.
An Israeli military spokesperson said that the families of 206 people believed to have been captured by Hamas and taken into Gaza had been contacted.
