Egypt receives 1st batch of wounded Palestinians, continues efforts to evacuate foreign nationals

CAIRO - 1 November 2023: The first batch of Palestinians with dual citizenship crossed from Gaza into Egypt on Wednesday as the Rafah Border crossing was announced to be opened to allow critically injured Palestinians, according to media reports. 

The border was re-opened at 9:30 a.m. Wednesday after Egyptian coordination with the United States, Israel and the Palestinian side. The re-opening is considered a culmination of the persistent efforts exerted by the Egyptian authorities to begin admitting wounded Palestinians and evacuating foreign nationals, as the humanitarian situation deteriorates in Gaza Strip.  

According to media sources at the border, a total of 76 wounded and their companions left in ambulances, in addition to 6 buses carrying 335 passengers holding foreign passports departed the strip and arrived through the border. 

As the border opens, the families of the wounded Palestinians and foreign nationals thanked President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi and the Egyptian State for their efforts to allow them cross from the Gaza Strip.

The nationalities of the dual citizens include: Japan, Bulgaria, Indonesia, Jordan, Australia, Czech Republic and Finland. 

On its side, Egypt is currently intensifying its communications to ensure the smooth exit of the wounded and foreign nationals according to the numbers agreed upon between the various parties.

Egypt’s organizing of the process of evacuation the wounded Palestinian received local, regional and international praise, as the Egyptian authorities allocated equipped ambulances and specialized medical teams to receive the injured. 

Egypt has also managed to direct successful diplomatic efforts in coordination with different countries to ensure the presence of representatives from these countries at Rafah crossing (from the Egyptian side) to receive their nationals, as well as provide documents that will assist in the process of their return to their home countries.

During the coming period, Egypt will continue its efforts with all concerned parties to set a mechanism that will ensure the continued opening of the Rafah crossing in order to receive more wounded and foreign nationals. 

Over the past days, Egypt has succeeded in increasing the daily number of humanitarian relief and medical aid trucks entering into Gaza Strip, aiming to alleviate the crisis the Palestinian residents are witnessing in Gaza. 

A total of 51 trucks carrying aid arrived on Wednesday at the border.

President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and his U.S. counterpart Joe Biden agreed in a Sunday phone call that the idea of displacing Gazans in Egypt is not acceptable. 

According to presidential spokesperson Ahmed Fahmy, Biden made the phone call to discuss the overall security situation in the Middle East, the latest developments in the military escalation in Gaza Strip, and means to prevent the expansion of the conflict to involve other parties in the region. 

Deteriorating humanitarian situation 

Sisi called for an immediate humanitarian truce, delivering humanitarian, medical and relief aid to the people of Gaza.

The two presidents agreed on increasing aid sustainably and in quantities that meet the needs of the people in the strip.

Sisi told Biden Egypt rejects the policies of collective punishment and displacement, reiterating that Egypt did not allow the displacement of Palestinians from Gaza Strip into Egyptian territory in the past, and will not allow it today. 

As the strip is running out of fuel, Palestinian Minister of Health Mai al-Kaila said that Al-Shifa Medical Complex will stop working in less than 24 hours as the hospital is currently operating in emergency, surgery, kidney, intensive care and incubator departments only, and that it is operating at a capacity exceeding many times its capacity and with a staff that does not cover 30% of the necessary requirement.

She stated that the lives of 70 cancer patients inside the hospital are seriously threatened, as the number of cancer patients in the Gaza Strip is about 2,000, living in catastrophic health conditions as a result of the ongoing Israeli aggression on the Strip.