Government in Gaza suspends evacuation of foreigners to Egypt: Border official tells AFP

AFP , Saturday 4 Nov 2023

The Palestinian Aministration suspended the evacuation of foreign passport holders to Egypt Saturday after Israel refused to allow some wounded Palestinians to be evacuated to Egyptian hospitals, a border official said.

Palestinians try to rescue a girl stuck under the rubble of a destroyed building following Israeli a
Palestinians try to rescue a girl stuck under the rubble of a destroyed building following Israeli airstrikes in Nusseirat refugee camp, central Gaza Strip, Tuesday, Oct. 31, 2023. AP

 

"No foreign passport holder will be able to leave the Gaza Strip until wounded people who need to be evacuated from hospitals in north Gaza are transported through the Rafah crossing" to Egypt, the official said on condition of anonymity.

An Egyptian security source confirmed to AFP that "no wounded person or holder of a foreign passport arrived at the Egyptian terminal" of Rafah on Saturday.

He said the evacuation was suspended "after the bombing of ambulances transporting injured people who were on their way to the Egyptian terminal".

On Friday, the Israeli occupation army announced it had struck an ambulance outside Al-Shifa hospital, Gaza's largest, saying it was "used by a Hamas terrorist cell".

At least 15 people were killed and 60 wounded in the strike, according to the health ministry in Gaza.

The Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza says air, land and sea attacks on Gaza have killed nearly 9,500 Palestinians, most of them are children and women. 

Israel says 1,400 Israelis have lost their lives since the beginning of the war.

* This story was edited by Ahram Online

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