Gazans pay tens of thousands of dollars to an Egyptian firm to escape.

Some Gazans who have lost everything are attempting to amass tens of thousands of dollars in order to pay a corporation that is said to have ties to Egypt’s security state in order to assist them in evacuating their families across the border from Rafah.

An English teacher named Ahmed Jamal, who is 35 years old, is one of them. His two little daughters wake up screaming and sobbing most nights, wet their beds, hide, and refuse to come out because they are afraid that they are going to die.

Jamal stated in a phone call on Saturday that his sister’s home in Deir Al-Balah, which is located in the center region of Gaza, was devastated by bombing. “Our situation is getting worse each day,” Jamal said. “I am unable to adequately convey to you the conditions in which we are currently residing: we have very little food, no water, insufficient gas, and no power. Some people, including myself, have the impression that there is nothing else to do but to leave Gaza.
USA TODAY chronicled the difficulties that Jamal and his sister Amal Nassar faced while they were pregnant in Gaza during the war. Jamal and Amal Nassar are hoping that once they have sufficient funds, Hala Consulting and Tourism Services, a travel agency in Cairo that is connected to Egypt’s military and intelligence agencies, will assist their families in crossing the border.

Fears are growing, and the situation has become especially dire as a result. There is a possibility that Israel could soon invade Rafah as part of its war strategy to eradicate Hamas and secure captives that have been held since the strikes on October 7. For the time being, it is not immediately evident how the Rafah border crossing will be affected in the event that the invasion is carried out.

More than two million people are still confined in Gaza, with approximately half of them residing in Rafah, which is the metropolis located in the southernmost part of Gaza.

Escape from Gaza

Because of Israel’s sea, land, and air blockade, which has lasted for years, leaving Gaza for Egypt or any other location has never been easy for Palestinians. Israel claims that it was necessary to implement this barrier in order to protect itself from terrorist threats and to preserve its security. Prior to the outbreak of hostilities, the Erez border in north Gaza, which was under Israeli control, enabled a number of Gazans to enter Israel in search of employment. With the assistance of travel businesses such as Hala, individuals were able to fly to Egypt for brief visits for a few hundred dollars. However, Israel has been prohibiting access to the Erez border since October 7 in order to conduct its military operation and to protect itself from any terrorist attacks. To assist Gazans in leaving the territory, Hala is requesting that they pay approximately $5,000 for an adult and $2,500 for a kid. This request was made today.

According to reports, other Gazans have paid fines that are considerably higher.

When the majority of Gazans are unable to work or obtain even the most fundamental necessities like food and supplies, it is difficult for them to come up with that amount of money. Many people, including Jamal and his sister, are turning to online fundraising platforms such as GoFundMe to raise money for their causes. These campaigns are being managed by friends, relatives, and even strangers who are wishing them well in the United States and Europe.

According to Megan Bayra, a Californian who is assisting in the coordination of the fund-raising efforts for numerous Gazan families on GoFundMe, including Jamal’s and Nassar’s, “I just refuse to rest until families like theirs are safe,” Bayra said.

In the event that Nassar and her three children are able to first arrive in Egypt and then obtain a visa or asylum seeker status in order to fly to the United States, which is not an easy task, Bayra has offered to provide them with living accommodations in a guest house on her property.

Exact details of the manner in which Hala organizes the crossings from Gaza into Egypt are not entirely clear. A comment request was sent to the corporation, but they did not answer. Multiple Palestinians who are either in the process of using its services to make arrangements to leave Gaza for Egypt or who have already left Gaza for Egypt have made it abundantly clear that the service can only be accessed at this time by having someone in Egypt physically go into its office in Cairo to register and make the payments in cash.

Requiring payment in U.S. dollar

United States dollars are required for the payment. Despite the fact that a receipt is provided, there does not appear to be any form of direct communication with Hala. Those who have enrolled are instead tasked with keeping an eye on the lists of names that Hala posts on its Facebook and Telegram pages on a daily basis. These lists provide information about who will be permitted to enter Egypt and when they will be permitted to do so. Following the completion of the payment, it appears that the approval to cross will take at least two weeks for many people.

Transportation by bus and an entry permit to Egypt that is valid for a period of at least one year are both included in the payment that is made to Hala. There is also the possibility that additional costs will be added to the headline price in order to speed up the procedure.

How many Gazans in Egypt not clear

According to the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, which is a global network of investigative journalists, the process by which Gazans have used Egyptian travel services to cross into Gaza has sparked allegations that the system is susceptible to abuse, including bribes, corruption, and fake payments. These allegations were made even before the war began.

The interior ministry of Hamas has been in charge of the Gaza side of the Rafah border for more than a decade, while Egypt’s security forces, notably its General Intelligence Service, have been in charge of the other side of the crossing. From a nearby military facility, Israel has been monitoring the crossing for a considerable amount of time in conjunction with a civilian organization known as COGAT. In the beginning of this year, Diaa Rashwan, who is the head of Egypt’s official Information Service, refuted what he referred to as “unfounded allegations” that Gazans were being paid additional expenses to enter the border during the conflict.

It is not possible for Gazans to create their own campaign pages on the GoFundMe website if they are located within the region. Someone from outside Gaza, perhaps in the United States or Europe, is required to carry it out. In response to a request for comment regarding the security procedures that the company has in place to ensure that third parties who raise money on behalf of Gazans are screened, the company did not provide a confirmation.

On its website, Gazans are actively working to gather funds in order to pay for the services that Hala provides.

According to Haisam Hassanein, an Egyptian-American expert on the Middle East who works at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, a think tank in Washington that focuses on national security and foreign affairs, it is difficult to determine the number of Gazans who may have been able to flee to Egypt since the beginning of the conflict.

Gazan cafes and restaurants opening near Cairo

Nevertheless, he stated that one sign that many are has been the proliferation of Gazans putting up small companies such as cafes and restaurants in Cairo and other parts of Egypt. He said this is an indication that many in Gaza are. To promote their products and services, some businesses are paying social media influencers. It was stated by Hassanein that Hala’s service is “an exclusive one for those who have the money.” It is only Gazans who are in possession of cash and who are going to be beneficial to Egypt’s economy that Egypt is interested in.

Jamal has stated that he is doing everything in his power to ensure that his family is able to leave Gaza, and that virtually all of the people he knows within his family and circle of acquaintances are participating in the same endeavor. According to him, he is petrified for the well-being of his wife Anhar, who is 32 years old, his son Jamal, who is four years old, and his daughter Teya, who is two years old. In addition to this worry, he expressed that he is filled with a profound sense of humiliation since he is forced to solicit the assistance of strangers in order to raise the funds that could be his family’s only chance of life.
“What else am I able to do,” On Saturday, he asked, “What else?” while his level of agitation increased.

During the time that his family is waiting to find out whether or not they will be permitted to leave Gaza, he has stated that he spends his days attempting to divert his children’s attention by playing games of several different kinds. They enjoy jumping on a trampoline, which is one of their favorite things to do. They have a little one that is located on the roof of the building that his sister owns in Deir Al-Balah. There are some cracks in it.