Motaz Alghalban is in Gaza with her sisters Majd, Somoud and her son Yamen. All four are Norwegian citizens. – Did you hear that? Motaz asks. The silence in the background is interrupted by the crash of missiles. The sound is very loud. – Have many rockets fallen in Khan Younis today? – Yes, it has. Just now someone came into the area. Someone hit the house next door a little while ago, but fortunately our neighbors had fled. Motaz Alghalban (right) and his brother Mo Min at the latter’s wedding. Photo: Privat They are located in Kahn Younis, which is 40 minutes from the Egyptian border and the city of Rafah. It is the only way out of Gaza that is not controlled by Israel. The news agencies AP and AFP report on Friday afternoon that the border will be opened. This has not yet been officially confirmed, and it is unclear who will eventually be allowed to cross the border. According to AFP, the border will be open between 12 and 17 local time. Had to evacuate from the border – We were told by the Norwegian embassy to take us to the border, and that we had to be there at 12 o’clock to cross it. We were afraid to go, because the road there was shelled yesterday, says Soumud. – I told the embassy that the street we have to use has been bombed. They wanted us to travel through there, but there was no transport, so we had to use our own car, adds Motaz. The street Motaz is referring to is Salah-al-Din, one of two evacuation routes from north to south. On Friday, several fleeing Palestinians were killed in an attack on the road. They left Kahn Younis today at 11. When they arrived, they were told to turn around. The border was closed, and was to be shelled by the Israelis, they were told. – They said Israel had not approved for us to leave Gaza. – We were scared because Israel has bombed here twice before, did you know that? Motaz asks. The Rafah border crossing was bombed three times on October 11 alone. Back in Khan Younis, they are without electricity, without water and only have access to the internet for a couple of hours a day. The Palestinians who have been displaced here live in extremely difficult conditions. Photo: STRINGER / Reuters And even though the city is in southern Gaza, where the Israelis have ordered the civilians, the city is constantly bombed. – We are having a very difficult time. My son is scared, says Soumud. – What are you doing now – are you trying again tomorrow? – We have to wait for a phone call from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that we can try again. We can only hope that they allow us to leave Gaza then. But when that phone will arrive is highly uncertain. On Saturday, Foreign Minister Anniken Huitfeldt said that the Norwegian authorities are in contact with the Egyptian and Israeli authorities and are asking them to open the borders for the 130 Norwegians stuck in the country, as a result of Israel’s blockade – We will not get the 130 Norwegians out, says Foreign Minister Anniken Huitfeldt (Ap) to news. Married just before the war At home in Norway sits his brother Mo Min Alghalban. Just days before the war broke out, he got married in Gaza, where his wife lives. The marriage is not currently registered in Norway, so she does not have Norwegian citizenship. When he returned home after the wedding, she therefore had to stay behind. He doesn’t know when he will see her again. Mo Min Alghalban is worried about his new wife and his family. Photo: Hans Erik Weiby / news – I think about them a lot. In Gaza, on my wife and my family, says Mo Min. Alghalban says it is difficult to witness what is unfolding in the place where he grew up. – What do your wife and family say when you talk to them? – They are very scared, says Mo Min.
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Norwegian citizens were not allowed to leave Gaza – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
