US proposes evacuation corridor from Gaza to Egypt

The United States is looking to establish a humanitarian corridor to evacuate Palestinians and US citizens from Gaza amid fierce and unprecedented Israeli strikes on Gaza, the Israeli state broadcaster Kan reported on Wednesday morning.

President Joe Biden's administration began coordinating with other countries to set up a humanitarian passage through Egypt to evacuate Palestinians and citizens holding American nationality, Kan reported.

The Israeli channel did not provide further details regarding which Palestinians would be allowed to leave the heavily bombarded enclave, or where they would be settled upon reaching Egyptian territory.

An official from the US embassy in Israel told Kan: "I cannot speak on behalf of the Egyptians, but I am confident they will allow this."

Meanwhile, Egyptian President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi affirmed that his country's national security was a "top responsibility" in response to the report of a possible exodus of Palestinians from Gaza to Sinai.

In a speech reported by local media on Tuesday, he said: "We will not allow liquidating the Palestinian cause at the expense of other parties."

Sisi said that "there should be no complacency or negligence in Egypt's national security issues under any circumstances," according to the official news agency Mena.

Hamas and other Palestinian factions in Gaza launched a major military attack on Israel on Saturday, killing hundreds of people.

They said this was in response to deadly Israeli attacks against Palestinians in the West Bank, Gaza, and East Jerusalem and continued Israeli stormings of the Al-Aqsa Mosque.

The Hamas assault was followed by a fierce and unprecedented Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip. Israeli aircraft have dropped hundreds of tons of explosives.

The death toll from four days of Israeli attacks has reached 1,055 Palestinians, including 260 children and 230 women. The number of Israeli casualties from the Hamas attack has reached 1200, with 2400 injured.