More than 300 Americans have left Gaza: State Department
More than 300 U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents have left Gaza since the start of November, and that number's expected to rise, State Department spokesman Vedant Patel said.
After the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and Gaza closed over the weekend, Patel said the State Department understood it reopened on Monday.
Asked about the apparent contrast between Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s assessment that all parties were "working through" practical issues surrounding humanitarian pauses and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s insistence that there will be no pauses until Hamas releases hostages imprisoned in Gaza, Patel said, "I don't think that these circumstances in these situations are black and white, necessarily."
“We will continue to raise publicly, privately, directly with our Israeli partners what we believe to be avenues to allow for humanitarian aid to get into Gaza to support the Palestinian civilians who need it. And of course, Israel will continue to conduct and make assessments about this operation, as they're the ones doing so," he said.
-ABC News' Shannon Crawford