RAFAH, Gaza Strip — Israeli ground troops have advanced to “the gates of Gaza City” in heavy fighting with militants, the military said Wednesday, as hundreds of foreign nationals and dozens of seriously injured Palestinians were allowed to leave Gaza after more than three weeks under siege.
The news came as U.S. President Joe Biden called for a humanitarian “pause” in the fighting. Biden was speaking at a Minneapolis campaign fundraiser when a protester interrupted him, calling for a cease-fire.
“I think we need a pause,” Biden responded. White House officials later said a break in fighting would allow more aid to get into Gaza and create a possibility for more hostages held by Hamas to be freed.
The first people to leave Gaza — other than four hostages released by Hamas and another rescued by Israeli forces — crossed into Egypt, escaping the territory’s growing misery as bombings drive hundreds of thousands from their homes, and food, water and fuel run low.
The U.S. State Department said some American citizens were among those who left, without giving specifics. It said it expected more Americans and other foreign nationals to get out of Gaza in coming days. Talks were reportedly ongoing among Egypt, Israel and Qatar, which has been mediating with Hamas.
Heavy airstrikes demolished apartment buildings for the second day in a row in the densely populated Jabaliya refugee camp near Gaza City. Al Jazeera television showed wounded people, including children, being brought to a hospital.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will visit Israel and Jordan on Friday – his second trip to the region since the war was sparked by Hamas’ bloody Oct. 7 rampage in southern Israel. Blinken aims to reiterate U.S. support for Israel, but also to push to ensure humanitarian aid reaches Palestinians in Gaza.
In a sign of increasing alarm over the war among Arab countries, Jordan — a key U.S. ally with a peace deal with Israel — recalled its ambassador from Israel and told Israel’s ambassador to remain out of the country.
Deputy Prime Minister Ayman al-Safadi said the return of the ambassadors is linked to Israel “stopping its war on Gaza … and the humanitarian catastrophe it is causing.”
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ISRAELI ARMY ADVANCES DEEPER
Brig Gen. Itzik Cohen, commander of the 162nd Armored Division, said his troops were deep in Gaza. “We are located at the gates of Gaza City.”
Israeli forces appeared to be advancing on three main routes, according to the Institute for the Study of War, a U.S. research group. One thrust came from Gaza’s northeast corner. Another south of Gaza City cut across the territory, reaching the main north-south highway.
The third from Gaza’s northwest corner had moved about 3 miles (5 kilometers) down the Mediterranean coast, reaching the outskirts of the Shati and Jabaliya refugee camps on the edges of Gaza City.
Hamas and the smaller Islamic Jihad militant group reported clashes with Israeli troops in several locations. Hamas’ armed wing posted video purporting to show its fighters emerging from tunnels and firing rockets at Israeli tanks.
The Israeli military said its airstrikes killed the head of Hamas’ anti-tank rocket unit in Gaza.
Several hundred thousand Palestinians remain in northern Gaza in the path of the fighting. Casualties on both sides are expected to rise as Israeli troops advance toward the dense residential neighborhoods of Gaza City. Israeli officials say Hamas’ military infrastructure, including tunnels, is concentrated in the city.
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BORDER OPENS TO ALLOW SOME PEOPLE OUT
By midafternoon Wednesday, 335 foreign passport holders left Gaza through the Rafah crossing into Egypt, said Wael Abu Omar, a spokesman for the Palestinian Crossings Authority.
Seventy-six Palestinian patients, along with their companions, have been evacuated for treatment in Egypt, Abu Omar said.
The authority said the plan was for more than 400 foreign passport holders to leave for Egypt. The White House said it expected a “handful” of American citizens to be among them, and German, French, British and Australian officials said their citizens were among the evacuees.
Hundreds more remain in Gaza. The U.S. has said it is trying to evacuate 400 Americans with their families.
Egypt has said it will not accept an influx of Palestinian refugees, fearing Israel will not allow them to return to Gaza after the war.