The White House announced – yesterday, Friday – that a group of American medical workers were able to leave the Gaza Strip after they were besieged in the hospital where they were providing their services.
Previous reports indicated that American doctors were unable to leave Gaza after Israel closed the Rafah border crossing.
Among these, 10 members of the Palestinian American Medical Society, which is based in the United States, intended to leave after completing a two-week medical mission at the European Hospital in the city of Khan Yunis, near Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip.
White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby explained that 17 American doctors and health care workers were able to leave Gaza yesterday, Friday, out of 20 people.
A US State Department spokesman told Reuters that some of the stranded doctors were able to reach safety with the help of the US Embassy in Jerusalem.
An informed source added that 3 American doctors chose to remain in Gaza, knowing that the American embassy may not be able to facilitate their departure as it did on Friday.
For its part, the Palestinian American Medical Society, a non-profit organization based in the United States, said that its team of 19 health care professionals, including 10 Americans, was prevented from leaving Gaza after the end of their two-week mission.
The association announced on social media on Wednesday that there are more doctors waiting to enter Gaza to replace those trying to leave.
Israel took control of the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt and closed it on May 7, disrupting a vital route for people and aid in the devastated Strip.
The Israeli aggression against Gaza, which has continued since October 7, left more than 114,000 Palestinians dead and wounded, most of them children and women, and about 10,000 missing amid massive destruction and famine that claimed the lives of children and the elderly.
Israel continues the war on Gaza despite the issuance of a resolution by the UN Security Council to stop the fighting immediately, and also despite the International Court of Justice demanding immediate measures to prevent acts of genocide and improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza.