Caught in Israel's devastating assault on their enclave, Gazans without foreign passports have been turning to Egyptian travel agencies for a costly escape from Israeli bombardments. Amid reports of profiteering by brokers, Cairo-based photojournalist Hamada Elrasam meets Palestinians who have been fundraising thousands of dollars that travel agents in Egypt are charging for each family member to secure safe passage through the Egyptian-administered, Israeli-monitored Rafah border crossing. Captions by Elle Kurancid.
Egypt’s Rafah border: The costs of fleeing Gaza
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Mohammed Ra’ed, a Palestinian medical student, says, “No one wants his family to die or suffer, but not all of them can evacuate them,” adding that two-thirds of Gazans already lived in poverty before Israel’s campaign. Cairo, Egypt, March 30, 2024.
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Mohammed Ra’ed set up a fundraiser for his displaced family of six, after a broker relayed wartime “coordination” fees of $5,000 per adult, and $2,500 per child. “Even if you had the money, you've spent all of it on the war.” Cairo, Egypt, March 30, 2024.
![“If I want to continue my studies here, and succeed in my life, I want to see it in my family's faces and eyes,” says Mohammed Ra’ed. “So, if they're not here for me, all my efforts, all the things I do, [will go] in vain." Cairo, Egypt, March 30, 2024.](https://gdb.voanews.com/01000000-0aff-0242-dc68-08dc5f51e552_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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“If I want to continue my studies here, and succeed in my life, I want to see it in my family's faces and eyes,” says Mohammed Ra’ed. “So, if they're not here for me, all my efforts, all the things I do, [will go] in vain." Cairo, Egypt, March 30, 2024.
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Issam Younis, the Palestinian director of Gaza-based Al Mezan Center for Human Rights, describes the suffering that many Gaza residents dream of escaping. “In Palestine, the passage of time is now marked by the count of children's bodies, cups of clean water, and medicine bills,” he says. Cairo, Egypt, April 6, 2024.
