KHAN YUNIS: Seventy-six Palestinian patients and their companions voluntarily went back to the Gaza Strip on Monday, having been unable to return to the embattled territory for more than two years.
The Gazan patients had been receiving medical care in two hospitals in Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem in October 2023, when Hamas launched the attack on Israel that sparked the Gaza war and saw access to the territory blocked.
The Palestinian Red Crescent Society said it had organized their transfer to the coastal territory in buses, in cooperation with Al-Mutlaa and Al-Makassed hospitals in Jerusalem, “after they completed their treatment.”
Hatem Nassar was one of dozens of people who gathered around the buses carrying the patients as they arrived at Nasser hospital in Khan Yunis, in the southern Gaza Strip. His mother was one of the patients onboard.
“This was a moment we had been waiting for, we were finally reunited with our mother after two years and two months of suffering, loss, and worry during the war, bombing, and destruction,” he told AFP.
“Her heart ached for us, but thank God, she returned to her homeland safely.”
Kifah Hussein spent the two years of the war at Al-Makassed hospital, and expressed her gratitude for the treatment she received while her native Gaza was devastated.
“They provided us with everything: accommodation, food, and clothing,” she told AFP.
Both Palestinian and Israeli authorities said that the patients’ return was voluntary.
“They expressed their desire to return to the Gaza Strip, as they had been there prior to October 7, 2023,” the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory said in a statement on Sunday.
COGAT, the Israeli body that runs civil affairs in the Palestinian territories, told AFP that “due to the closure of the crossings, their return was not possible until now, despite having completed their medical care.”
It added that their repatriation to Gaza was with their “full consent.”
Palestinian patients stranded in Jerusalem hospitals return to Gaza
https://arab.news/cg3ke
Palestinian patients stranded in Jerusalem hospitals return to Gaza
- The Gazan patients had been receiving medical care in two hospitals in Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem in October 2023
- Palestinian Red Crescent Society said it had organized their transfer to the coastal territory in buses, in cooperation with the two hospitals in Jerusalem
Ceasefire with Kurdish-led force extended for another 15 days, Syrian army says
- The defense ministry said the extension was in support of an operation by US forces to transfer accused Daesh militants to Iraq
- The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces confirmed the ceasefire extension
RAQQA, Syria: Hours after the expiration of a four-day truce between the Syrian government and Kurdish-led fighters Saturday, Syria’s defense ministry announced the ceasefire had been extended by another 15 days.
The defense ministry said in a statement that the extension was in support of an operation by US forces to transfer accused Daesh militants who had been held in prisons in northeastern Syria to detention centers in Iraq.
The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces confirmed the ceasefire extension.
“Our forces affirm their commitment to the agreement and their dedication to respecting it, which contributes to de-escalation, the protection of civilians, and the creation of the necessary conditions for stability,” the group said in a statement.
Over the past three weeks, there have been intense clashes between government forces and the SDF, in which the SDF lost large parts of the area they once controlled.
Earlier in the day, the Kurdish-led force called on the international community to prevent any escalation.
The end of the truce came as government forces have been sending reinforcements to Syria’s northeast.
Syria’s interim government signed an agreement last March with the SDF for it to hand over territory and to eventually merge its fighters with government forces. In early January, a new round of talks failed to make progress over the merger, leading to renewed fighting between the two sides.
A new version of the accord was signed last weekend, and a four-day ceasefire was declared Tuesday. Part of the new deal is that SDF members will have to merge into the army and police forces as individuals.
The SDF said in a statement Saturday that military buildups and logistical movements by government forces have been observed, “clearly indicating an intent to escalate and push the region toward a new confrontation.” The SDF said it will continue to abide by the truce.
On Saturday, state TV said authorities on Saturday released 126 boys under the age of 18 who were held at the Al-Aqtan prison near the northern city of Raqqa that was taken by government forces Friday. The teenagers were taken to the city of Raqqa where they were handed over to their families, the TV station said.
The prison is also home to some of the 9,000 members of the Daesh group who are held in northeastern Syria. Most of them remain held in jails run by the SDF. Government forces have so far taken control of two prisons while the rest are still run by the SDF.
Earlier this week, the US military said that some 7,000 Daesh detainees will be transferred to detention centers in neighboring Iraq.
On Wednesday, the US military said that 150 prisoners have been taken to Iraq.
