50 Gazan patients enter Egypt via Rafah crossing

Cairo, Feb. 1, ’25 (Xinhua/TNZ) Fifty patients from the Gaza Strip entered Egypt on Saturday through the Rafah crossing, the only link between the Palestinian enclave and Egypt, Egypt’s state-run Nile TV reported.

They are the first group of Gazan patients entering Egypt via the crossing for medical treatment since last May.

Television footage showed patients entering the Egyptian side of the crossing and boarding ambulances waiting at the border.

An Egyptian Red Crescent source told Xinhua earlier on Saturday that authorities stationed 30 well-equipped ambulances at the Egyptian side of the crossing.

They were to transport the patients to hospitals in the cities of Sheikh Zuweid, Arish, and Suez.

Medics will send some patients to the Egyptian capital Cairo after assessing their condition.

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The patients will be assigned to departments of orthopaedics, burns, general surgery and paediatrics in designated hospitals for treatment, the source added.

The Rafah crossing between Egypt and Gaza has been a key gateway for delivering relief supplies donated by Egypt, other countries, and international organisations.

On Jan. 19, authorities opened the Rafah crossing from the Egyptian side. This is part of a ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel.

Since May 2024, the Palestinian side of the crossing has been controlled by Israel, which had blocked its operation until the recent ceasefire agreement. (Xinhua)