US plans to evacuate citizens from Gaza ahead of Trump's Middle East visit, source says
The Trump administration is planning to evacuate 20 US citizens from the Gaza Strip ahead of the president's visit to the Middle East next month, Middle East Eye can reveal.
The evacuation of US citizens trapped in the besieged Gaza Strip is planned to take place in the coming week and is likely to occur on or before 7 May, a source with knowledge of the matter told MEE.
Approximately 20 Palestinian Americans will be evacuated from Gaza and bussed to Jordan, the source added.
The evacuation of US citizens via Jordan comes as Israel ups its bombardment of the Gaza Strip, with Rafah, Gaza's southern border crossing with Egypt, shuttered.
Meanwhile, ties between Egypt and the US are frayed over Trump's call earlier this year for Egypt to accept forcibly displaced Palestinians and rumblings that the White House could reduce military aid to Cairo.
New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch
Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters
Rafah temporarily reopened during a short-lived truce in January, but was quickly closed after Israel refused to move towards phase II negotiations with Hamas on ending the war and resumed its attacks.
On Friday, the UN said no humanitarian or commercial supplies had entered Gaza for more than seven weeks as all main border crossing points remain closed.
The source, citing security concerns, did not tell MEE which crossing the American citizens would exit from.
The plight of US citizens stuck in Gaza has stoked controversy.
In December, nine plaintiffs - a combination of US citizens, permanent US residents, and Americans with immediate family trapped in Gaza - sued the former Biden administration saying it had not done enough to evacuate US citizens from Gaza amid Israel's attack.
US pressured Palestinian Authority to drop investigative power from UN resolution Read More »
The plaintiffs argued that the US government had violated their right to equal protection under the US constitution by failing to provide the type of 'normal and typical' evacuation services that have been extended to US citizens in other wars zones, most recently in Afghanistan and Lebanon.
The State Department has not provided recent figures about how many US citizens remain in the Gaza Strip. The current evacuation will only apply to US citizens, meaning that non-US family members like spouses or children would be left behind.
A US State Department spokesperson said previously that 1,800 "American-linked" people were evacuated from the Gaza Strip before Israel took control of Gaza's southern Rafah border crossing in May 2024.
The evacuation of American citizens from Gaza would mark one of the first major forays by the Trump administration to address the concerns of Palestinian Americans inside Israel and the occupied Palestinian Territories.
Trump's newly arrived ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, was a vocal proponent of settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank before his appointment.
Huckabee said on Monday blame should be placed on Hamas, not Israel, for aid not entering the Gaza Strip.
The Trump administration has strongly backed Israel's decision to return to war in the Gaza Strip. However, the raging conflict is likely to loom over Trump's visit to the Middle East next month, where he hopes to focus on an Iran nuclear deal and normalisation agreement between Israel and Saudi Arabia.
The White House confirmed that Trump is slated to travel to the Middle East between 13-16 May, visiting Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE.
Notably, Trump's itinerary, so far, does not include Israel.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The National
2 hours ago
- The National
Gaza Humanitarian Foundation reports Hamas attack on aid workers
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation on Wednesday said a vehicle carrying aid workers was attacked by Hamas militants. At least five people on the bus – which was carrying more than two dozen local Palestinians working with the US-backed initiative – were killed and several injured, according to a statement from the GHF. Several workers are believed to have been taken hostage. "We condemn this heinous and deliberate attack in the strongest possible terms," the statement said. "These were aid workers. Humanitarians. Fathers, brothers, sons and friends, who were risking their lives every day to help others." The GHF said it holds Hamas fully responsible for the attack, adding that the militant group has been threatening aid workers and civilians seeking assistance daily. It called on the international community to condemn Hamas. The foundation said that despite the attack, it would continue to distribute aid in Gaza. Israel eased an 11-week blockade on Gaza last month, but only a "teaspoon" of aid has entered the enclave, according to the GHF. The controversial US and Israeli-backed private organisation is overhauling aid distribution in the strip. Protected by private US security contractors, the foundation has set up aid distribution sites around the enclave. The US and Israel have claimed that the initiative is aimed at keeping aid out of the hands of Hamas, which they say has been stealing aid. Despite claims that the initiative will allow aid to be dispensed more securely, scores of Gazans have been killed at distribution sites, with local authorities blaming Israeli soldiers for firing on those queueing for assistance.
Arabian Post
2 hours ago
- Arabian Post
U.S.-China Trade Talks In London Form The Basis Of Early Agreement On Contentious Issues
By Nitya Chakraborty The high level delegations of United States of America and China concluded their two day trade talks in London on Tuesday agreeing to take forward the course of negotiations for further promoting steady and healthy development of economic and trade ties between the two largest economies of the world. Both Chinese and U.S. sources underlined that the London talks were based on the guidelines set through phone conversations between President Trump and President Xi Jinping on June 5 as also the understanding arrived at the earlier meeting in Geneva last month. In fact following the Geneva meeting last month, the Chinese side made lot of complaints that the U.S, agencies have been violating many of the principles agreed to at the Geneva meeting and this was hampering the proper implementation of the Geneva understanding. Chinese President's office communicated this to the President Trump's office and finally Trump spoke directly to President Xi Jinping on June 5 and discussed a few guidelines for trade discussions scheduled in London on June 9 and 10. Now this London agreement based on that June 5 guidelines set by the two Presidents will be taken forward for further finetuning at the next meeting to be scheduled soon. U.S. sources say that the areas of discussions are so vast and the items are so many that a full fledged deal will take a few more sources have hinted that the Trump administration is really keen in arriving at an early deal with China. So, the U.S. side will abide by the London agreement in the interests of normal trade relations between both the countries. According to a latest survey released by the American Chamber of Commerce in China, although tariffs pose rising challenges to US companies in China, most companies are not planning to exit China, with none reporting shifting production back to the US. Chinese sources say that China is maintaining strategic patience in talks with the U.S. officials as there are some structural trade conflicts and these require time consuming discussions. On Monday morning, China released the trade data for the first five months of 2025. China's total goods imports and exports in yuan-denominated terms rose to 17.94 trillion yuan ($2.5 trillion) in the first five months of 2025, up 2.5 percent year-on-year, official data showed Monday. The continuous growth in foreign trade underscores the resilience of the world's second largest economy, with supply chain and industry chain remaining competitive in response to the world market demand, despite global headwinds highlighted by unilateralism, a Chinese expert said. 'Since the beginning of this year, China's economy has continued to recover and improve. Under external pressure, the country's goods trade has maintained strong resilience. By May, China's imports and exports continued their growth trend, with the growth rate accelerating notably after the high-level China-US economic and trade talks,' said Lü Daliang, a GAC spokesperson, Xinhua reported on Monday While China's foreign trade generally saw a positive growth, uncertainties remain, as reflected in some trade figures. Media reported that last month, goods exports rose 6.3 percent year on year, while imports went down 2.1 percent. China-US trade decreased by 8.1 per cent year on year basis to1.72 trillion yuan during the first five months of 2025, according to Chinese customs data. Li Changan, a professor at the Academy of China Open Economy Studies at the University of International Business and Economics, told the Global Times on Monday that data from May shows that while China's foreign trade remained generally stable, some fluctuations did occur, likely linked to the trade tensions. 'China's import and export growth accelerated significantly following recent high level trade talks between China and the US in Geneva. This suggests a rebound in foreign trade after the joint statement, partially offsetting the negative impact of the trade dispute and helping maintain overall trade stability,' Li said, adding that challenges persist as businesses expect more predictability in world trade. The trend in China-US trade data was 'expected,' as even though China and the US reached an agreement to significantly reduce reciprocal tariffs during the Geneva talks in May, US tariffs on Chinese goods remain high, prompting Chinese foreign trade companies to made adjustments by exploring alternative markets to reduce their reliance on the US, Huo Jianguo, a vice chairman of the China Society for World Trade Organization Studies in Beijing, told the Global Times on Monday. The United States and China have a substantial trade relationship, with China being a major trading partner and a significant export market for the US. In 2024, total US-China trade in goods reached an estimated $582.4 billion, with US exports to China at $143.5 billion and imports from China at $438.9 billion, resulting in a trade deficit of $295.4 billion. China is the third-largest export market for the US, behind Canada and Mexico. It is interesting that Chinese policy makers are making special efforts to woo the European Union in both political and trade areas by taking advantage of the current fissures in US-EU relations. The idea is to project China as a defender of multilateral trading as also WTO norms as against the unilateralism being followed by the US President Donald Trump. However, there have been many setbacks to China-EU relations also. This month, the EU has taken steps to restrict Chinese medical devices from participating in its public procurement market, which was firmly opposed by the Chinese side. Recently, negative hype against China has increased in Europe. Following the 'China spy' case and the so-called lobbying scandal related to Huawei, the Czech Republic openly accused China of launching a cyberattack against it, and the EU and NATO followed suit. Even after a major power outage in Europe, solar power inverters produced in China were questioned by some for 'cybersecurity risks.' In the recent days, China and Europe have conducted intensive diplomatic interactions. President Xi Jinping spoke with French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz respectively, Vice Premiers He Lifeng and Liu Guozhong visited Europe successively, the Danish and Dutch foreign ministers visited China successively, and Foreign Minister Wang Yi spoke with the German and Polish foreign ministers. Vice Premier He Lifeng is currently in London on an official visit to the UK. He will be having intensive discussions on trade and political issues with the British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. The European Parliament and China have decided to simultaneously and comprehensively lift restrictions on mutual exchanges, further sending a positive signal for expanding exchanges between the two sides. It's reported that European Council President Antonio Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will also visit China in July to hold meetings with Chinese leaders. Chinese experts say that such setbacks are not unexpected taking into account the policies of EU members but still cooperation and collaboration are possible. China is interested in that. Over the past 50 years since establishing diplomatic relations, China and the EU have formed a strong economic symbiotic relationship, with annual trade increasing from $2.4 billion to $785.8 billion – a growth of over 300 times. Both sides have engaged in productive multilateral coordination and cooperation in areas such as climate change. Both Chinese and EU sources say these collaborations have not only brought tangible benefits to nearly 2 billion people on both sides but have also made significant contributions to maintaining global stability and prosperity. In the current complex international situation, the China-EU relationship holds even greater strategic significance and global influence. The Chinese perception is that the development of China-EU relations demonstrates that the two sides can fully respect each other, engage in equal dialogue, complement each other's strengths, and achieve mutual success. The world is changing, but the fundamental fact that cooperation between China and the EU far outweighs competition, that consensus far exceeds differences, and that opportunities far exceed risks remains unchanged. (IPA Service)
The National
3 hours ago
- The National
Former CIA analyst who leaked papers on Israeli strike given 37 months in prison
A former CIA analyst who leaked top secret US intelligence documents about Israeli military plans for a retaliatory strike on Iran was sentenced to 37 months in prison on Wednesday, the Justice Department said. Asif Rahman, 34, who worked for the Central Intelligence Agency since 2016 and held a top-secret security clearance, was arrested by the FBI in Cambodia in November. In January, Rahman pleaded guilty at a federal court in Virginia to two counts of wilful retention and transmission of national defence information. He faced a possible sentence of up to 20 years in prison. Iran unleashed a wave of almost 200 ballistic missiles on Israel on October 1 in retaliation for the killings of senior figures in the Tehran-backed Hamas and Hezbollah militant groups. Israel responded with a wave of strikes on military targets in Iran in late October. According to a court filing, on October 17 Rahman printed out two top-secret documents "regarding a United States foreign ally and its planned kinetic actions against a foreign adversary". He photographed the documents and used a computer program to edit the images in "an attempt to conceal their source and delete his activity", it said. Rahman then transmitted the documents to "individuals he knew were not entitled to receive them" before shredding them at work. The documents, circulated on the Telegram app by an account called Middle East Spectator, described Israeli preparations for a possible strike on Iran but did not identify any actual targets. According to The Washington Post, the documents, generated by the US National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, described aviation exercises and movements of munitions at an Israeli airfield. The leak led Israeli officials to delay their retaliatory strike.
