TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) has confirmed that a Taiwanese doctor was successfully evacuated from the Gaza Strip on Wednesday (Nov. 1).
Foreign passport holders and injured people trapped in the Gaza Strip during the ongoing Israel-Hamas war in the Palestinian enclave began leaving the warzone on Wednesday. Foreign Minister Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) on Thursday (Nov. 2) confirmed that a Taiwanese NGO worker was among those evacuated, reported CNA.
Prior to a meeting of the Legislative Yuan, Wu told the press that MOFA is aware of the movements of this Taiwanese NGO worker. Wu said the NGO worker has left the Gaza Strip safely and is in contact with Taiwan's representative office in Israel.
Also on Wednesday, Doctors Without Borders confirmed with the news agency that a Taiwanese national was on its list of 22 staff members evacuated from the Gaza Strip.
The Business Standard reported that Qatar had brokered an agreement between Egypt, Israel, and Hamas that allowed for limited evacuations of Gaza via the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt. The list of those who were informed they could be evacuated from Gaza included Palestinians who also hold Japanese, Austrian, Bulgarian, Indonesian, Jordanian, Italian, Greek, Australian, and Czech passports.
The list also included NGO staff who hold passports from Taiwan, Spain, Italy, the Philippines, Haiti, Germany, the U.S., Japan, Austria, Mexico, France, Kenya, Nigeria, Australia, South Africa, Armenia, Uganda, Ghana, Jordan, Sierra Leone, Ukraine, Czech Republic, New Zealand, and Australia.
Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Jeff Liu (劉永健) confirmed with Taiwan News that the Taiwanese citizen evacuated is a Doctors Without Borders physician.