First group of wounded Palestinians cross Rafah border for medical care in Egypt
Ambulance vehicles wait at the Rafah border crossing on the Egyptian side to carry the sick and wounded from Gaza in Rafah, Gaza on February 01, 2025. (AA Photo)
The first batch of wounded Palestinians and patients on Saturday left the Gaza Strip through the Rafah border crossing to undergo medical treatment in Egypt.
Their exit marks the first day of the Rafah crossing opening in accordance with the ceasefire agreement that took effect on Jan. 19.
According to an Anadolu correspondent, buses and ambulances carrying wounded people, patients and their escorts left the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing heading to the Egyptian side of the border crossing.
Egyptian Al Qahera News Channel broadcast footage showing two ambulances transporting two injured individuals across the border.
One patient suffered from a chronic immune deficiency, while another underwent a foot amputation, it reported.
Earlier, Mohammed Zaqout, the director of hospitals in Gaza’s Health Ministry, said that the first batch includes 50 wounded and sick children along with 53 caregivers.
He, however, did not elaborate on the mechanism of their medical treatment in the Egyptian Health Ministry’s hospitals.
Noting that this first group of patients is relatively small compared to the larger population urgently needing treatment, he said: “Approximately 6,000 individuals are ready to travel, and around 12,000 more urgently require medical attention.”
Previously, the Palestinian Health Ministry confirmed that the crossing would open on Saturday for the first batch of wounded people to leave Gaza.
The Rafah crossing, a vital route for humanitarian aid into Gaza, has been closed since May 2024 after Israel’s ground offensive in the southern city of Rafah.
The crossing is supervised by an international force from the European Union (EU) and run by Palestinians from the Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority.
On Jan. 19, a ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement between Hamas and Israel went into effect, initially lasting 42 days.
Israel kills more than 47,000 Palestinians since Oct. 7, 2023
Israel’s genocidal war has killed more than 47,400 Palestinians, most of them women and children, and injured more than 111,000 since Oct. 7, 2023.
The Israeli onslaught on Gaza has left more than 11,000 people missing, with widespread destruction and a humanitarian crisis that has claimed the lives of many elderly people and children in one of the worst global humanitarian disasters ever.
The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants in November last year for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.
