More Americans Are Set to Leave Gaza, White House Says

At least 100 U.S. citizens and family members departed Gaza on Thursday and another large group of Americans is expected to leave Friday, the White House said. “We continue to be focused on getting as many Americans out as quickly as possible, and we expect more Americans to depart over the next several days. But of course this is a fluid situation,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters Friday aboard Air Force One.

Jean-Pierre said the U.S. Embassy in Cairo assisted more than 100 U.S. citizens and family members Thursday who had entered Egypt from Gaza via the Rafah border crossing. She noted there were additional U.S. citizens and family members who departed Gaza the same day but didn’t seek assistance. Jean-Pierre didn’t give an estimate of how many Americans were expected to leave Gaza for Egypt on Friday, but said the evacuation of U.S. citizens from the strip was the result of “intense diplomacy.”