By Alexandra Enberg
IZMIR, Türkiye (AA) – About 101 more Swedish citizens will be allowed to leave the Gaza Strip for Egypt, according to a list of names published by the local authorities on Tuesday.
The list of Swedish citizens mainly consists of natives of southern and western Sweden, according to the Swedish TT News Agency. The majority are said to be children.
Svante Liljegren, head of the Swedish Foreign Ministry's Consular Unit, told Swedish television on Tuesday that the ministry is in contact with Swedish citizens, advising them on how to reach the border. At the same time, they have not been able to reach all the citizens on the list due to poor mobile networks in Gaza, he added.
On Monday, about 80 of the roughly 500 Swedes who requested help from the Foreign Ministry received permission to leave Gaza and go to Egypt, but how many of those got out is not clear, he said.
“The latest figure I have received is 62 people. There may be others who have managed to leave without contacting the Swedish Embassy in Cairo,” said Svante Liljegren.
“A group from the Swedish Embassy in Cairo is at the border station to meet the evacuated people. There is an ID check and then further transportation to an Egyptian border check. Buses have been arranged by the embassy to take them to Cairo. They have then three days to leave Egypt,” said Svante Liljegren.
During an interview with Swedish Television on Monday, Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom rejected the accusations that the government has done too little to help the Swedish citizens trapped in war-torn Gaza.
For 10 years, the ministry has been advising citizens against traveling to Gaza. Those staying there defied this advice and traveled there on their own initiative, he stated.
According to Billstrom, the Foreign Ministry has been in continuous contact with the embassies in both Tel Aviv and Cairo to assist the Swedes who requested help.
As the Israeli assault on the Gaza Strip entered its 39th day, at least 11,240 Palestinians have been killed, including over 7,800 women and children, and over 29,200 others have been injured, according to the latest figures from Palestinian authorities.