A restricted number of wounded Palestinians can now enter the Rafah border into Egypt from Gaza. These individuals are the first to be permitted to leave the beleaguered area since the Israel-Hamas fighting started on October 7. According to a representative for Egypt’s health ministry, “they are arriving one by one.”
The Rafah crossing had been virtually blocked for more than three weeks, allowing no civilians to leave and just a small amount of relief to trickle in. Amidst a worsening humanitarian catastrophe, over two million Palestinians were trapped inside the Gaza Strip until two Israeli prisoners were let to escape into Egypt last week.
In addition to injured Palestinians, foreigners may soon be able to enter Egypt through Rafah as part of an agreement mediated by Qatar.
Rafael breaks down: On Wednesday, the first wounded Palestinians from Gaza entered Egypt across the bridge. Up to 81 Palestinians with serious injuries are anticipated to land in Egypt later on Wednesday. Those permitted to depart are in terrible condition. The majority of patients in Gaza’s Al Shifa hospital require surgical intervention in operating rooms, a procedure that is not currently available in the enclave, according to Dr. Mohammed Abu Silmiyeh, the facility’s director.
According to several reports, a Qatar-mediated agreement allowed up to 500 foreign nationals to enter Egypt through Gaza in addition to the injured Palestinians.US citizens delayed: According to a Western official, Americans are not thought to be among the first foreigners who could be permitted to exit Gaza via the Rafah crossing. According to internal government correspondence that was leaked, US citizens are anticipated to start leaving Gaza as soon as this Thursday.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated at a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing on Tuesday that roughly 400 American citizens and their families, or a total of about 1,000 people, have been stuck in Gaza.The Israeli strike on the heavily populated Jabalya refugee camp in Gaza on Tuesday resulted in devastating destruction and numerous fatalities, as reported by local medics and witnesses. Although Hamas denied that Biari was in the camp, Israeli sources said that the hit killed top Hamas commander Ibrahim Biari, identifying him as one of the masterminds of the October 7 attack in Israel.
Dr. Atef al-Kahlout, the hospital’s director, stated that “hundreds” of injured and dead patients had arrived at the Indonesian hospital in Gaza and that many more were still buried beneath the debris. Wednesday saw Saudi Arabia denounce Israel for its “inhumane targeting” of the camp; however, Israel maintained that it was a “legitimate target.”Communication blackouts in Gaza:
As Israel keeps bombing the territory with airstrikes and intensifies its ground assault, the internet and communications in Gaza were cut off once more on Wednesday, according to two telecom companies. Palestine Telecommunications reported the “complete interruption of all communications and Internet services within the Gaza Strip, due to international routes that were previously reconnected being cut off again” in a statement on X, formerly Twitter.Ground offensive
: On Friday, the Israeli army moved tanks, bulldozers, infantrymen, and combat engineer groups into Gaza to start a ground operation. However, it seems that Israeli soldiers have advanced very slowly towards the hub of the enclave’s population, rather than swiftly into Gaza City. Following the confirmation of the first two Israeli military losses of the campaign on Tuesday, the IDF on Wednesday named nine more Israeli troops killed during its combat operation. Using images and videos from publicly accessible sources in addition to reporting from CNN teams on the ground
