2023-11-01 19:46:13
After more than three weeks of siege, the first Palestinians – dozens of holders of foreign passports and seriously injured – received permission to leave Gaza, where Israeli aircraft attacked a refugee camp for the second day.
The bombings forced tens of thousands from their homes, food, water and fuel are in short supply, but no one has been allowed to leave the enclave apart from four hostages freed by Hamas. Another captive was rescued by Israeli forces days ago. But this Wednesday a limited agreement was apparently reached.
Around fifty Egyptian ambulances transported dozens of seriously injured people from the Israeli bombings of the Gaza Strip to receive treatment in Egyptian hospitals, given the deteriorated situation in Gazan health centers, for the first time since the start of the Israeli bombings. of the Palestinian enclave.
In parallel, up to 335 Palestinians with foreign passports and citizens of other countries residing in the Strip left for Egypt, under an agreement brokered by Qatar with Israel, Hamas and the Government in Cairo.
In addition, a total of 53 trucks loaded with food and medical supplies entered the Gaza Strip this Wednesday through the Rafah border crossing, which connects the Palestinian enclave with Egypt, thus being the largest convoy to enter in one day following passing the inspection by the Israeli authorities.
The trucks entered in two batches, one of 20 units early in the morning and another of 23 units in the middle of the followingnoon, following passing through the corresponding Israeli control to check the load of each of the vehicles that had been waiting for hours on the side. Egyptian border.
Critical situation
Al-Jazeera television, one of the few outlets still reporting from northern Gaza, showed scenes of devastation in the Jabaliya refugee camp near Gaza City, and several injured people, including children, being taken to a nearby hospital. . The Hamas government said there were many dead and wounded, without disclosing figures.
The scenes broadcast by Al-Jazeera were almost identical to those of the day before, with dozens of men removing rubble from collapsed buildings in search of survivors.
The death toll from Tuesday’s attacks was also unknown, although the director of a nearby hospital said the dead and wounded numbered in the hundreds. Israel claimed its strikes killed dozens of militants, including a Hamas commander who took part in the bloody Oct. 7 raid that sparked the war. The bombing also destroyed tunnels under buildings, he added.
In a sign of growing alarm among Arab countries, Jordan recalled its ambassador to Israel and told the Israeli ambassador to stay out of the country. Jordan, a key US ally in the region, signed a peace agreement with Israel in 1994, as Egypt had done previously.
Jordanian Deputy Prime Minister Ayman al-Safadi, who is also Foreign Minister, said the ambassadors’ return depends on Israel “stopping its war in Gaza… and the humanitarian catastrophe it is causing.” He said the spread of the conflict threatens “the security of the entire region.”
Israeli ground forces were approaching the outskirts of Gaza City, days following beginning a new phase of the war, which Israeli rulers say will be long and difficult. As was the case when Israeli forces entered Gaza over the weekend, phone and internet service was disrupted for several hours on Wednesday.
The Palestinian enclave of 2.3 million inhabitants is suffering a humanitarian crisis caused by the siege imposed by Israel following the October 7 attack. More than half of the population has abandoned their homes, and food, water, medicine and fuel are in short supply. Hospitals depend on their own generators, which might soon stop since Israel has banned fuel imports.
The deaths in Gaza due to Israeli bombings have risen to almost 8,800, and the injured are more than 22,219, reported Ashraf Al Qudra, spokesman for the Ministry of Health of the enclave, controlled by the Islamist group Hamas.
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