In the process, 50 injured or sick Palestinian children were transferred to Egypt to be treated.
A group of 50 sick or injured Palestinian children was transferred to Egypt to be treated there by Rafah’s crossing point in Gazaafter the reopening of the latter by Israel for the first time since Tsahal seized it in May 2024.
This decision follows the release by Hamas of the latest hostages still alive in Gaza and is part of the cease-fire agreement entered into force in January.
Young patients were accompanied by sixty of their relatives, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health.
May Sammour, mother of a sick child, Mutasem, has been waiting for three months to borrow Rafah’s crossing point for allowing her son to receive treatment in Egypt that was not available in Gaza.
“He suffers enormously, with strong pain and a lack of movement; he does not eat well; the disease is very serious”she explained.
Another parent of a child suffering from lung cancer said that he hoped that his son would be successfully treated abroad and that he “would then return to our country safely”.
These children are The first in a series of planned evacuations by Palestinians by the crossing point, with a view to treatment abroad.
Over the past fifteen months, the campaign led by Israel against Hamas in retaliation for the attack on October 7, 2023 against southern Israel has greatly affected the health sector in Gaza, putting most of the out -of -service hospitals.
Israeli forces have Closed Rafah’s passage point – the only Gaza passage point which does not enter Israel – at the beginning of May 2024after taking it during an offensive on the city.
Egypt then closed its side of the passage as a sign of protest.