The only known Maltese national in Gaza managed to leave the war-torn region into Egypt late on Friday.

"I just made it to Cairo," Qassem Ali told Times of Malta early on Saturday morning, after a gruelling 17-hour crossing.  

Ali, 65, who holds a Maltese and US passport is of Palestinian descent, and was among a small number who was allowed out through the Rafah crossing. 

A frequent visitor to Malta, Ali lived in Rabat and has family in Mqabba. Residing in Beit Hanoun in the north of Gaza, he is a war reporter, having worked with ABC, as an Associated Press cameraman, and founded the Palestinian TV company and news agency Ramattan.

On Tuesday, Ali told Times of Malta editor Herman Grech: "There’s no safe zone my friend, but I am fine and strong and I will accept my fate, whatever it will be. This I why I feel I am safe, even though my house got destroyed."

The crossing into Egypt is open for limited evacuations under a Qatar-brokered deal between Israel, Egypt, Hamas and the United States, aimed at letting some foreign passport holders and their dependents, and some wounded Gazans, out of the besieged enclave.

More than 8,000 people are believed to have been killed in Gaza after a surprise attack by Hamas in Israel left more than 1,4000 people dead. 

The Foreign Ministry said on Saturday said it has been working for several weeks with the American government to make sure Ali is safely evacuated from Gaza. 

In a statement, it said Ali started his journey several hours earlier with the assistance of the Ambassador of Malta to Israel, Cecilia Attard Pirotta, the Ambassador of Malta in Egypt, Roberto Pace, and the Representative to Palestine, Franklin Aquilina.