40,000 Gazans, almost 2% of population, have left since start of Oct. 7 war

Forty thousand Gazans, or almost 2% of the Strip’s prewar population, have left the coastal enclave since start of the war sparked by Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, massacre, Kan News reported on Thursday.

Citing sources familiar with the matter, Israel’s public broadcaster reported that more than 1,000 Palestinians have exited the Strip since the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas went into effect on Oct. 10, 2025.

The U.S.-brokered agreement states that Gaza’s residents will be allowed to leave the Strip to Egypt through the southernmost Rafah Crossing in coordination with Cairo and subject to Jerusalem’s security approval.

Palestinians who want to leave Gaza but do not hold a foreign passport face a complex approval process that often depends on relations with Hamas’s “civilian” authorities