The New York Times has managed something remarkable. It wrote an entire article about Americans trying to leave Gaze without saying a single negative word about Egypt.
"Americans Raced to Get Their Families Out of Gaza. Then the Border Slammed Shut" says the headline. The border just slammed shut on its own, of course, nothing at all to do with Egypt. And the inability of the Americans to leave for the previous seven months also, amazingly, had nothing to do with Egypt.
The story, written by immigration reporter Hamed Aleaziz, ensures that no one knows that a corrupt Egyptian businessman with close ties to Egypt's president has had the exclusive rights to allow Gazans to leave and he extorted millions in bribes to call the lucky few "VIPs" so they could leave.
Instead, the story blames the inability of some Gaza Americans and their relatives to leave on just some sort of unknown bureaucratic problems from - someone.
The criteria are strict: Only parents, spouses and unmarried, under-21 children of American citizens are eligible for the assistance. The United States gathers the names and provides them to Israeli and Egyptian authorities, who control the border, and ask that they be allowed to cross.Since the start of the war seven months ago, more than 1,800 American citizens and their families have left Gaza with the assistance of the State Department, U.S. officials say. They are only a fraction of the hundreds of thousands of Gazans desperate to leave as the already dire conditions there deteriorate....And then they wait. Families check a Facebook page run by the authorities in Gaza, which gets updated as people are approved to cross into Egypt. If their name appears, they are advised to go immediately to a border crossing.
Compare to how NPR reported on the story in March:
The border fee service, known as "coordination," is operated by a singular entity: Hala Consulting and Tourism, an Egyptian company with reported ties to Egypt's security services, whose sister company runs the business in charge of aid transportation into Gaza.Hala provides a crucial service: registering names on the Egyptian list of travelers approved for entry from Gaza, and operating transportation from the border to Cairo.Applying is complicated, fees have fluctuated and the rules often change. Palestinians in Gaza need a relative in Egypt to apply to the Hala company on their behalf. Hundreds wait outside the company building in Cairo to pay the fee in dollars, with cash. Some say they have paid thousands of dollars on top of the standard fees just to get in the door. Approvals can take months.
....Egypt's economy is struggling, inflation is high and the country is desperate for dollars to purchase wheat and pay off its mounting debt. Since the start of the Gaza war, Suez Canal revenue has tanked, as cargo ships avoid it because of Houthi missile attacks in the Red Sea.The high fees also reflect Egypt's policy on absorbing Palestinians during the war, Hassanein says. Egypt does not want a permanent mass displacement of Palestinians, and does not want any Islamist militants to enter from Gaza."They are trying to condition mainstream Palestinians that coming to Egypt wouldn't be an easy option," says Hassanein.
Gazans wanting to leave has an arduous procedure to go through even before the war. From OCHA in 2022:
Palestinians wishing to leave Gaza via Egypt must register with the local Palestinian authorities two to four weeks in advance. People may also apply directly to the Egyptian authorities, using the services of a private company. The procedures and decisions by both authorities lack transparency. Those that are approved exit through the Rafah Crossing, controlled by the Egyptian authorities, which operates from Sundays to Thursdays. The journey through the Sinai desert is often lengthy and includes multiple stops for checks by Egyptian security forces.
Ask any Gazan. They know Egypt is the reason they cannot leave. Israel is supposed to approve the names, but that is automatic - no one outside known terrorists are being denied, and it sure appears that Egypt can allow Hamas terrorists to leave without Israel's permission too.
This is a perfect example of lying by omission. Both before and after May 7, Egypt has been the single major roadblock on any Gazans leaving. Today, Egypt is not even allowing Gazans who need medical attention to leave.
Egypt can open the border within the next hour if they wanted and allow not only Americans but every Gazan who wants to leave- and they refuse.
Hamed Aleaziz and the New York Times do not want their readers to know this.
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