RAFAH: A handful of injured Palestinians and their companions entered Egypt from Gaza on Monday, the first day of a limited reopening of the Rafah border crossing, a source on the Egyptian side of the border told AFP.
“Five injured people and seven companions” crossed the border, the source said on Tuesday.
The reopening, demanded by the United Nations and aid groups, is a key part of the second phase of US President Donald Trump’s truce plan for Gaza, where humanitarian conditions remain dire after two years of war.
The number of patients allowed to enter Egypt through the crossing was limited to 50 on Monday, each accompanied by two companions, according to three officials at the Egyptian border.
An Egyptian health official told AFP on Monday that three ambulances had arrived with Palestinian patients who were screened upon arrival to determine which hospital to be taken to.
AlQahera News, citing Egypt’s health ministry, reported that 150 hospitals and 300 ambulances had been prepared to receive Palestinian patients.
It said 12,000 doctors and 30 rapid deployment teams had been allocated to work with those transferred.
The director of Gaza City’s Al-Shifa Hospital, Mohammed Abu Salmiya, said there were 20,000 patients in the territory in urgent need of treatment, including 4,500 children.
There was no official announcement of the number of people who returned to Gaza via the crossing.
AFP images on Monday showed empty buses crossing back to Egypt after transporting Palestinians to Gaza earlier in the day.
The partial resumption of operations at the crossing comes after Israeli forces seized control of the gateway to Egypt in May 2024 during the war with Hamas.
Gaza’s civil defense reported dozens killed in a wave of Israeli strikes over the weekend, in what the military said was retaliation for Palestinian fighters exiting a tunnel in Rafah city.
Ali Shaath, the head of a Palestinian technocratic committee established to oversee the day-to-day governance of Gaza, said Rafah’s reopening offered a “window of hope” for the territory.
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Dozen people entered Egypt from Gaza on first day of Rafah opening: source
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Dozen people entered Egypt from Gaza on first day of Rafah opening: source
- The reopening, demanded by the UN and aid groups, is a key part of the second phase of Trump’s truce plan for Gaza, where humanitarian conditions remain dire after two years of war
Turkiye again blocks aid convoy for Kurds in Syria: NGO
- Last week, Turkish authorities prevented a convoy carrying humanitarian supplies destined for Kobani
- The convoy had been assembled in Turkiye’s southeastern Kurdish city of Diyarbakir
DIYARBAKIR, Turkiye: Turkish authorities have blocked for a second time an aid convoy from reaching the Syrian Kurdish town of Kobani that’s been overwhelmed by people fleeing fighting, a local NGO said on Wednesday.
As the Syrian army and Kurdish forces clash in Syria, Kobani has been inundated by people trying to escape the hostilities.
Last week, Turkish authorities prevented a convoy of 25 trucks carrying humanitarian supplies destined for Kobani from reaching the Turkiye-Syria border.
The convoy, which included water, milk, baby formula and blankets, had been assembled in Turkiye’s southeastern Kurdish city of Diyarbakir by the Diyarbakir Solidarity and Protection Platform, the NGO that organized the aid drive.
After it was blocked last week, it had initially been authorized to travel via Azaz, a city in northern Syria, with its own delegation overseeing the handover.
But “the delegation was again denied permission,” the group said in a statement on Wednesday.
The trucks “were not allowed to cross into Kobani despite all efforts,” it said, adding that “the aid was brought back to Diyarbakir.”
Last week, residents of Kobani said they were running out of food, water and electricity because the city was overwhelmed with people fleeing the advance of the Syrian army.
Kurdish forces accused the Syrian army of imposing a siege on Kobani, also known as Ain Al-Arab in Arabic.
After months of deadlock and fighting, Damascus and the Syrian Kurds announced an agreement on Friday.
The deal “seeks to unify Syrian territory,” including Kurdish areas, while also maintaining an ongoing ceasefire and introducing the “gradual integration” of Kurdish forces and administrative institutions, according to the text of the agreement.
Kurdish forces liberated Kobani from a lengthy siege by the Daesh group in 2015, their first major victory against the jihadists.
Turkiye views Syrian Kurdish fighters as a terror group affiliated with Turkiye’s outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
As the Syrian army and Kurdish forces clash in Syria, Kobani has been inundated by people trying to escape the hostilities.
Last week, Turkish authorities prevented a convoy of 25 trucks carrying humanitarian supplies destined for Kobani from reaching the Turkiye-Syria border.
The convoy, which included water, milk, baby formula and blankets, had been assembled in Turkiye’s southeastern Kurdish city of Diyarbakir by the Diyarbakir Solidarity and Protection Platform, the NGO that organized the aid drive.
After it was blocked last week, it had initially been authorized to travel via Azaz, a city in northern Syria, with its own delegation overseeing the handover.
But “the delegation was again denied permission,” the group said in a statement on Wednesday.
The trucks “were not allowed to cross into Kobani despite all efforts,” it said, adding that “the aid was brought back to Diyarbakir.”
Last week, residents of Kobani said they were running out of food, water and electricity because the city was overwhelmed with people fleeing the advance of the Syrian army.
Kurdish forces accused the Syrian army of imposing a siege on Kobani, also known as Ain Al-Arab in Arabic.
After months of deadlock and fighting, Damascus and the Syrian Kurds announced an agreement on Friday.
The deal “seeks to unify Syrian territory,” including Kurdish areas, while also maintaining an ongoing ceasefire and introducing the “gradual integration” of Kurdish forces and administrative institutions, according to the text of the agreement.
Kurdish forces liberated Kobani from a lengthy siege by the Daesh group in 2015, their first major victory against the jihadists.
Turkiye views Syrian Kurdish fighters as a terror group affiliated with Turkiye’s outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
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