Status: 01.11.2023, 08:56 a.m.
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Palestinians at the Rafah crossing. © Hatem Ali/AP
So far, the Rafah crossing has been opened mainly for the delivery of aid. Now injured Palestinians will soon be able to cross the Genze to be treated in Egypt.
Cairo/Gaza - The treatment of Palestinian wounded from the Gaza Strip in Egypt is apparently getting closer. On Wednesday morning, more than a dozen Egyptian ambulances drove to a gate at the Rafah crossing, images from the state-affiliated Al-Kahira News television channel showed.
According to the secretary general of the Egyptian Red Crescent in North Sinai, Raed Abdel Nasser, 40 ambulances were on standby. According to Al-Kahira News, they were waiting in the transit area of the crossing on the Egyptian side.
The border authority in Gaza was informed of the planned move by the Egyptian side on Tuesday evening. 81 seriously injured people will be able to cross the border in Rafah on Wednesday to be treated in Egyptian hospitals, the authority said in a statement. Employees of the Egyptian Red Crescent were also informed on Tuesday to be ready for the opening.
Since the beginning of the Gaza war, it has not been possible to treat the injured in Egypt. The opening of the Rafah crossing and who is allowed to pass through it is strictly regulated. So far, the crossing has mainly been used for the delivery of relief supplies.
Field hospital in Egypt
Egypt has already built a field hospital to treat the Palestinian wounded. It is located behind a government hospital in the village of Sheikh Suwaid, about 15 kilometers from the Rafah crossing. It reportedly has at least 300 beds.
Al-Kaira News reported that Egypt was ready to receive about 80 wounded to be treated by Sheikh Suwaid and the coastal town of Al-Arish. Abdel Nasser of the Egyptian Red Crescent said transfers to other specialty hospitals, including Cairo, were also possible.
According to the Hamas-controlled health authority, about 8300,21 civilians were killed and 500,<> others injured in the war. This information cannot yet be independently verified.
Since the Islamist Hamas violently seized control of the Gaza Strip in 2007, Israel has tightened a blockade of the coastal area that Egypt supports. The government in Cairo is also concerned that a large number of Palestinian refugees could enter Egypt via Rafah. Dpa