Sick and wounded people left Gaza for Egypt through the Rafah border crossing on Saturday for the first time in nine months under a key provision of the cease-fire agreement between Israel and Hamas.
But officials in the Gaza Health Ministry said that only 50 of the thousands of ill and injured people in need of treatment abroad would be able to cross on Saturday.
Al Qahera News, an Egyptian state-owned TV channel, live-streamed ambulances arriving at Egypt’s side of the crossing, carrying some of the ill and injured.
The crossing had been closed after Israel invaded Rafah, the southernmost city in Gaza, in May. The war has devastated the health system in Gaza, leaving the hospitals still in service struggling to provide care.
Israel’s war in Gaza has caused immense destruction to medical facilities in the territory, including Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City. Israeli officials have accused Hamas of using a number of medical facilities for military purposes and have said that a raid on Al-Shifa in November 2023 revealed a stone-and-concrete tunnel shaft below the facility. Hamas has denied Israel’s accusations.
Before Israel took over the crossing, tens of thousands of the sick and wounded Palestinians and foreigners escaping the war left through the passageway. Rafah was also a crucial entry point for trucks carrying aid into Gaza.