By EFE
02 Nov 2023, 2:46 PM EDT
Mexico City – Mexican doctor Michelle Ravell, who was able to leave after almost a month of being trapped in the Gaza Strip, is already in Egypt awaiting repatriation to Mexico, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (SRE) announced this Thursday.
“I share with great joy that Michelle has already left the Gaza Strip and is with the Mexican Embassy in Egypt in preparation for her repatriation to Mexico. We thank all the authorities involved,” published the Mexican Foreign Minister, Alicia Bárcena, on the social network X (formerly Twitter).
The Mexican president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, had announced on Wednesday that Ravell would be one of the first to leave the corridors set up this week to remove foreigners from Gaza in the midst of the conflict that began on October 7 between the Palestinian group Hamas. and Israel.
Ravell identifies herself on her social networks as a collaborator with Doctors Without Borders (MSF) and originally from the state of Veracruz.
“Friends and family, I have crossed into Egypt safely. Thank you for your little messages,” she wrote in her last Facebook post.
In addition, the SRE seeks to include Dr. Bárbara Lango, who also supports MSF in Gaza, on the humanitarian exit list.
On the other hand, Hamas holds two Mexicans identified as Ilana Gritzewsky and Orión Hernández among its hundreds of hostages.
The Government of Mexico acknowledged two weeks ago that it is in dialogue with all parties, including Hamas, to free the two Mexicans, although López Obrador admitted that there is “nothing firm yet.”
While other countries in the region, such as Bolivia, Colombia and Chile, raise their criticism of Israel’s bombings, Mexico maintains a “neutral” position, demanding this Wednesday at the UN the release of the hostages, condemning the terrorist attacks by Hamas and, at the same time, ask for humanitarian aid for Gaza.
The Gaza Ministry of Health announced this Thursday that there have already been more than 9,000 deaths and 32,000 injuries in Gaza since the beginning of the war almost a month ago, when the Islamist group Hamas attacked Israeli territory, leaving 1,400 dead and more than 5,400 injured. and 242 kidnapped people who were taken to Gaza.