Originally 28 injured Palestinians were scheduled to arrive in Egypt on the same day, but that couldn’t happen due to “the incidents related to the transfer of injured people to the other side of the Rafah crossing,” said a statement by the Egyptian health ministry.

Israel launched airstrikes on Friday targeting the vicinity of ambulances carrying wounded out of Al-Shifaa Medical Complex in Al-Rimal in Gaza as they tried to make their way to the Rafah border crossing.

People gather around an ambulance damaged in an Israeli strike in front of Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City on November 3, 2023. AFP

The Rafah crossing has been open since Wednesday for the seriously injured Palestinians in the Israeli strikes on Gaza as well as for foreigners and dual nationals per a recently reached deal.

Around 150 injured Palestinians and their escorts and more than 1,000 foreigners and dual nationals have crossed to Egypt over the past three days, Spokesman for the Palestinian Crossings Authority Wael Abu Omar told Sky News on Friday. 

Spokesman of the Egyptian Health Ministry Hossam Abdel-Ghaffar said all the 17 injured that arrived in Egypt today underwent medical examination and were carefully diagnosed, according to the ministry’s statement.

He added that all the cases are receiving excellent medical care from the medical teams present at the crossing as well as those in Egyptian hospitals.

Meanwhile, quarantine doctors at the crossing conducted medical examinations for 448 foreign nationals, including 96 children, who were also vaccinated against polio, measles, and mumps, noted Abdel-Gaffar.

The unrelenting Israeli war in Gaza since October 7 has killed more than 9,300 Palestinians and injured over 23,500 people.

The health facilities in the strip are unable to accommodate all the injured, with many of which are already out of service due to strikes and the lack of fuel.