The UK is pushing for Britons trapped in the Gaza Strip to be allowed to leave after the border crossing with Egypt was opened.
Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said teams are ready to help British nationals able to flee the territory, which has been subjected to bombardment by Israel and is suffering shortages of food, water and fuel.
The Government has provided the Israeli and Egyptian authorities with a list of British national and their dependants and is pressing for them to be able to leave as soon as it is practically possible.
As Tel Aviv’s forces step up operations against the Hamas group, which carried out the October 7 atrocities in Israel, Mr Cleverly also stressed the need for humanitarian aid to get into Gaza.
Dozens of people were seen using the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt on Wednesday, the first time foreign passport holders have been allowed to leave the territory since the start of the conflict.
But it is not clear when Britons will be allowed to leave.
Mr Cleverly said: “UK teams are ready to assist British nationals as soon as they are able to leave.
“It’s vital that lifesaving humanitarian aid can enter Gaza as quickly as possible.”
It is likely that the departure of British nationals from Gaza will take place in stages over the coming days.
Intensive diplomatic efforts involving Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, Mr Cleverly and Middle East minister Lord Ahmad and counterparts in Egypt, Israel and Qatar have helped ensure that British nationals will be among those able to leave the Gaza Strip.
The Government is understood to be pressing at the most senior levels for Britons to be allowed out as soon as possible.
The border is expected to be open for time-limited periods under strict controls to allow specific groups of foreign nationals and the seriously wounded to leave.
The list of those allowed out has been agreed between Egypt and Israel, with the embassies from the relevant countries informed in advance.
The UK has a Border Force team in Cairo, with consular officials in Arish, near Rafah, to provide support for Britons who leave Gaza.
But the Scottish Government said its understanding is that Britons will not be allowed out yet.
Scottish First Minister Humza Yousaf’s in-laws remain trapped in the Gaza Strip with “dwindling supplies”.
Mr Yousaf’s parents-in-law, Elizabeth and Maged El-Nakla, from Dundee, travelled to Gaza to visit family before the conflict erupted.
In a statement, the First Minister’s spokesman said: “We continue to liaise with the UK Government and urge them to work with the Egyptian authorities so that all UK nationals can urgently leave Gaza as quickly as possible.
“The First Minister’s wife, Nadia, spoke to her mother this morning. The family remains trapped in Gaza, without clean drinking water, and rapidly diminishing supplies.”
Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden said Israel’s air strikes on the Jabalia refugee camp on Tuesday, targeting a Hamas commander, are part of the “terrible nature” of the conflict.
Asked by Sky News whether Israel has broken international law with the strikes, he said: “Hamas is a terrorist organisation that has murdered in cold blood over 1,000 innocent Israeli men, women and children, and now seeks to hide amongst the civilian population. This is a very difficult conflict.
“We continue to urge the Israeli government to abide by international law. I believe that the Israeli government is continuing to do so against an enemy that hides among civilians.”
Israeli forces were reported to have targeted Jabalia again on Wednesday.
The Palestinian death toll in the Israel-Hamas war has reached 8,525, according to the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza. In the occupied West Bank, more than 122 Palestinians have been killed in violence and Israeli raids.
Labour called for the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) to set up an appeal for Gaza, matched by taxpayer funding.
Shadow foreign secretary David Lammy and shadow cabinet development minister Lisa Nandy were in Cairo for talks about the crisis.
Mr Lammy said: “There is an urgent need to alleviate humanitarian suffering in Gaza and a DEC appeal with Government backing would help galvanise the public’s efforts to help those in need.
“We must also begin to plan for the large-scale reconstruction that will be required for the people of Gaza to live in peace and dignity.
“In the long term, there can only be a political solution based on a two-state solution.”
