21 Gazan cancer patients cross into Egypt via Kerem Shalom
An Egyptian medical source shared that 21 cancer patients crossed from the Gaza Strip into Egypt on June 27th via the Kerem Shalom crossing, Arab News and agencies reported.
The source said the patients would be transported to the United Arab Emirates for treatment, making it the first evacuation from Gaza since Israeli forces seized the Rafah border crossing on May 7th.
The crossing — a key conduit for humanitarian aid and assistance — has failed to re-open despite negotiations. Cairo refuses to resume its operations through the crossing until Israel relinquishes its control.
Some aid trucks have been diverted to the nearby Kerem Shalom crossing, though humanitarian sources say the daily average of trucks entering the territory is less than 90 per day. The UN says a daily minimum of 500 are required to meet the basic needs of Gazans, 20 percent of which suffer from acute food insecurity.
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Few hospitals remain in the territory to treat the medical ailments of its civilians. Israeli forces targeted the facilities, claiming that they served as Hamas strongholds. As a result, on March 30th, World Health Organisation (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus urged the evacuation of 9,000 Gaza medical patients.
At the time, he reported that of Gaza’s 36 hospitals, 10 remained “minimally functioning.”
Comparatively, Israel previously organised a petition in March that called for all Gazan medical patients receiving treatment in Israel for life-threatening ailments to be sent back to the territory amidst the war. Israel’s Supreme Court has since halted this plan.
Arab News and agencies
