Gazans crowdfund thousands for uncertain escape - BBC News

People hoping to leave Gaza in a widening humanitarian crisis must dodge scammers and pay huge sums.

1 day agoShareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingRelated TopicsIsrael-Gaza warImage source, Getty ImagesImage caption, A man rides a horse-pulled cart in RafahBy Brandon DrenonBBC NewsAs deadly Israeli bombardments and acute food shortages continue, and a threatened Israeli military operation in southern Gaza looms, more and more Palestinians are seeking a way out - if they can find the money for it.

This uncertain exit requires people to pay thousands of dollars and navigate scammers and misinformation to get their names onto a list of people approved to leave via the Rafah crossing to Egypt.

The crossing is closed to the vast majority of people under an Egyptian-Israeli blockade against Hamas. Only some foreign passport holders and their dependents have been able to leave, as well as some seriously wounded and sick people and those accompanying them.

However, a parallel system exists whereby Gazans pay Egyptian brokers to get on a list of people who can leave. Depending on who you talk to, prices range from $6,000 (£4,800) per person to over $12,000 - exorbitant sums for most of Gaza's population.

Yet increasing numbers of people are trying to raise the money to flee, with the help of friends and family in the US and Europe. Among them are the Hammads, currently displaced along with more than a million others in Rafah next to the Egyptian border.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-68455257

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