In Gaza, Israeli authorities have reopened the Rafah border crossing into Egypt for small numbers of Palestinians to seek medical care abroad. On Thursday, the Palestinian Red Crescent Society reported just eight Palestinians were allowed to cross, along with family members. Red Crescent official Raed al-Nams says that’s just a tiny fraction of the thousands of Palestinians who can’t get the medical care they need inside the Gaza Strip due to Israel’s blockade and attacks on hospitals and medical infrastructure.
Raed al-Nams: “According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, there are around 18,000 patients injured whose conditions are classified as critical and for whom lifesaving services are unavailable in the Gaza Strip. We hope that the efforts made in this regard will lead to an increase in the numbers so that the largest possible number of patients can be evacuated outside the Gaza Strip.”