Egypt declares 3-day mourning period for Palestine's hospital victims

Ahram Online , Wednesday 18 Oct 2023

Egypt’s President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi has declared a national three-day mourning period to mourn the innocent Palestinian civilians in Gaza who lost their lives due to the continuous Israeli bombardment, the Egyptian Presidency said on Wednesday.

Ahli Arab hospital
People gather by destroyed vehicles at the site of the Ahli Arab hospital in central Gaza on October 18, 2023 in the aftermath of an overnight blast there. A blast ripped through a hospital in war-torn Gaza killing hundreds of people late on October 17, sparking global condemnation and angry protests around the Muslim world. AFP

 

According to the presidency, Egypt mourns the civilian victims who fell in the criminal targeting of Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital in the Gaza Strip and all the martyred Palestinian brothers and sisters.

On Wednesday, El-Sisi condemned in the “strongest terms” the “deliberate” Israeli bombing, calling for an immediate cessation of such practices against civilians.

He also said the bombing of the hospital constitutes a "clear violation of international law and international humanitarian principles."

Israeli air strikes on the hospital compound killed at least 600 people.

The attack has drawn condemnation from most countries and international organizations, triggering protests in the occupied West Bank, Istanbul, and Amman.

On Wednesday afternoon, volunteers from the Decent Life Foundation and the National Alliance for Civil Development Work (NACDW) staged a sit-in in front of the Rafah border crossing to protest the relocation of Palestinians to Sinai and Israel's refusal to allow a safe passage to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza.

The sit-in came in response to President El-Sisi's call for protesting during a press conference with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz held at the Presidential Palace earlier on Wednesday.

Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said in a CNN interview on Wednesday that the Rafah border crossing "has been bombed four times" and sustained “severe damage,” revealing that four Egyptian workers were injured at the Rafah border crossing because of the bombing.

Israel has allowed no safe passage into Gaza and prevents any attempts to repair the damage to the crossing, Shoukry said.

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