11:41 | Cairo (Egypt), Oct. 23.
The number of Peruvian nationals who have requested to be evacuated from the Gaza Strip, through the crossing with Egypt, has risen to nine,
Peruvian Ambassador to Egypt Jose Betancourt said on Monday.
"They are fine. I cannot say they are in a safe place, because such phrase might not suit the reality. The situation remains very fragile throughout the Gaza Strip. Violence has not stopped," he said in an interview with RPP Noticias.
The Peruvian envoy remarked that compatriots cannot approach the Rafah border post, located at the border between Gaza and Egypt, because adequate conditions do not yet exist for this to happen.
Among the Peruvians seeking to leave said territory is a 6-year-old Peruvian girl and her Palestinian mother.
Also on the waiting list are two Peruvian nuns identified as Lucia and Monica Llerena Vargas, who seek to enter Egypt to later return to Peru.
"The two sister nuns are in the north of Gaza. They have contacted Peru because they want to be evacuated to Egypt," he said.
The diplomat explained that the nuns had been in the Gaza Strip for a long time, but they decided to return to Peru after the Israeli Army responded with bombings to the attack by the Palestinian extremist group Hamas.
Betancourt affirmed that all compatriots will be evacuated as favorable circumstances arise.
(END) RMCH/CVC/RMB
Published: 10/23/2023