While the Moroccan embassy in Ramallah announced the start of the process of evacuating Moroccans from Gaza, the process is still marred by a number of problems, keeping a number of nationals stuck in the strip, under heavy Israeli attack.
Until Thursday, a number of Moroccans were unable to cross the Rafah crossing, despite being stationed there for about two days, due to the lack of a representative from the Moroccan embassy to facilitate their passage and undertake administrative procedures.
Today, Moroccan citizens were forced back into Gaza, including Mohammad Safi, who moved to the crossing with his wife and three children, but the long hours of waiting did not lead to passage.
Safi said: “Although our names have been on the list of the Moroccan embassy in Ramallah since last Monday, we were not able to cross. We remained stuck there, and when we ask the officials at the crossing they ask for the presence of the Moroccan representative.”
Safi added, in an interview with MoroccoLatestNews, that “all countries have representatives at the crossing except the Moroccan representative. He only came on the first day and then disappeared.”
For her part, Faiza Maqousi, a Moroccan stranded in Gaza, said that this is a blatant disregard for people’s lives, stressing that the Moroccans who moved to the crossing “risked their lives only to find themselves stranded without any assistance from the Moroccan representation in Ramallah.”
“Other nationals pass smoothly, as their embassy representatives are stationed at the crossing until the crossing process is completed, except for the Moroccan representative who only came on the first day and disappeared later.”
“We appeal to His Majesty the King to give his orders to facilitate our transfer. We are risking our lives to reach the crossing, and some of us have actually died,” she lamented, adding: “We were slaughtered under the bombing, and we all hope for the King after God Almighty to save those who remain of us.”
The Moroccan Embassy in Ramallah previously announced that the total number of Moroccans to be evacuated from the Gaza Strip is 614 people.
“Efforts are continuing to evacuate all those holding Moroccan nationality stranded in the Gaza Strip to Egypt, by continuing coordination with the Moroccan Liaison Office in Israel, the Embassy of the Kingdom of Morocco in Egypt, and various concerned parties,” said the diplomatic representation.