A medical source in Egypt’s El-Arish city announced the evacuation of 21 cancer patients from Gaza through the Kerem Shalom crossing for the first time since its closure in May when Israeli forces took control of the Palestinian side.
The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity to AFP, stated that 21 cancer patients have arrived in Egyptian territory via the Kerem Shalom crossing to receive treatment in the UAE.
Negotiations to reopen the Rafah crossing, a major passage for aid and evacuation operations, have repeatedly stalled.
Cairo has refused to resume operations at the crossing as long as Israeli forces control the Palestinian side.
According to Mohammed Zaqout, a senior official at Gaza’s Ministry of Health, around 5,000 patients have been evacuated since the beginning of the conflict, but another 25,000 still need treatment abroad.
Zaqout told journalists on Thursday that among them are 10,200 cancer patients, including nearly a thousand children, and 250 patients urgently needing to leave Gaza.
The United Nations has repeatedly warned of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, where residents are suffering from famine and facing bombardment, with the few remaining hospitals struggling to operate amid increasingly difficult access to food and other essentials.
Due to fuel shortages, the Palestinian Red Crescent announced on Thursday that it had been forced to halt more than a third of its ambulance fleet.
