More than 400 Americans have now left Gaza, the White House said Tuesday, an uptick of at least 100 exits that the Biden administration announced Sunday.
"We do expect more individuals to depart Gaza," White House national security spokesperson John Kirby told reporters.
A State Department official placed the number at 400. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said last week that there were 1,000 Americans looking to get out of Gaza.
"We continue to work in partnership with ... Egypt and Israel towards safe passage for more U.S. citizens, their immediate family members and U.S. lawful permanent residents," State Department deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel told reporters.
"This is an ongoing and fluid situation," Patel said Tuesday. The number of U.S. citizens who will be able to leave is expected to increase, he said.
Crossings through Rafah into Egypt were halted over the weekend but resumed Monday, Patel said.
At least 320 foreign nationals and dependents passed through the Rafah crossing on Tuesday, the only border crossing not controlled by Israel, along with 100 Egyptians, Reuters reported.
U.S. deputy national security adviser Jon Finer said Sunday that the exit of Americans required "pretty intensive negotiations."
"Those negotiations are going on quietly behind the scenes. They have taken longer than any of us would like," Finer told CBS' "Face the Nation." "But we continue to believe that there is the possibility of getting a significant number of these hostages released."
The crossing opened Nov. 2 for the first time since Hamas' attack on Israel on Oct. 7.
Reuters contributed to this report.
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