Medical patients leave Gaza when Rafah Crossing reopens after eight months

The border crossing of Rafah de Gaza, a main point of entry and exit for the territory, has reopened after eight months to allow sick and injured Palestinians to cross in Egypt to receive medical treatment.

Fifty patients, including cancer children, had entered Egypt to access medical care, according to the Hamas Ministry of Health.

The crossing had been closed since the Israeli forces took control of Gaza’s side in May last year.

The key link door, a vital duct for aid, has been reopened as part of a high fire and hostage agreement between Hamas and Israel.

The images of the evacuees show the Palestinian children on stretchers and ambulances that reach the border crossing.

“We have been waiting for this day impatiently,” said Mai Khader Abdul Ghani, whose son, Moatsem Billah Rami Nabil Sammour, has an Autoimmune Rare disease, said Gaza of the Arab BBC today.

She said her son was put in intensive care at Nasser Hospital in Gaza and had suffered severe pain in the last three months.

“Thank God that his name was included in the reference for treatment. I hope his suffering comes to an end after receiving the appropriate treatment,” he said.

He added that the treatment for the disease was not available in Gaza due to the closure of the crosses, the shortage of medicines and the general lack of medical care.

His son said he had great pain while waiting to be referred to a hospital in Egypt.

“I have severe difficulties to move, my mouth has ulcers, and I also have difficulty eating, drinking and everything,” he said.

Mohammed Abu Jalala was also among those who accompanied relatives who crossed the border to receive medical treatment. He said his niece Lara Abu Jalala had suffered serious injuries on his feet after a bombing, who killed his parents and three brothers.

“One foot was so badly damaged that it had to be amputated. We tried to avoid amputation, but it had to perform since the foot had gangrene in the bone,” he said. “The other is still injured and needs treatment, and amputation needs monitoring and treatment.”

In statements to the BBC from the crossing, Dr. Rik Peeperkorn, the representative of the World Health Organization (WHO) for the West Bank and Gaza, described the evacuation as an “orderly” and “slow” process.

“The ambulances go one by one, first with the patients who do not go through walks, then to the patients who walk and the companions. They will be reviewed and then pass to the Egyptian side,” he said.

He estimates that 14,000 people need access to treatment that they cannot get in Gaza.

WHO estimates that half of those patient’s injuries “are related to war and trauma lesions, amputated, burns, column injuries that will need multiple operations and specialized rehabilitation,” he said, and added that the other half suffers from Chronic diseases.

“Approximately 5,000 of them hope to be children.”

The head of foreign policy of the European Union, Kaja Kallas, said Friday that the block had deployed a monitoring mission at the crossroads.

“It will support Palestinian border staff and allow the transfer of individuals outside Gaza, including those who need medical attention,” he wrote in X.

Rafah’s crossing is the most southern exit post of Gaza. There are only two border crossings from and from the Gaza Strip: Erez, a crossing to Israel in northern Gaza, which is for people, and Kerem Shalom, a cross of unique goods with Israel in southern Gaza.

More than 47,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s military offensive in Gaza, says the Ministry of Health led by Hamas.

The offensive occurred after some 1,200 people were killed and 251 returned to Gaza as hostages when Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023.

The reopening of the Rafah’s crossing occurred when Israel and Hamas carried out their fourth liberation of hostages and their exchange of prisoners since the high fire began on January 19.

Israel released 183 Palestinian prisoners and detainees in exchange for three Israeli hostages: Yarden Bibas, Offer Kalderon and Keith Siegel.