The first group of Palestinians who were wounded in the Israeli strikes on Gaza arrived in Egypt on Wednesday through the Rafah Border Crossing, and were soon examined and transferred to hospitals in the North Sinai governorate, Egyptian Ministry of Health and Population said.
The significant move comes in response to directives of President Abdel Fattah El Sisi, who ordered providing due health support to the wounded Palestinian brothers coming from Gaza, ministry spokesman Houssam Abdel Ghaffar said.
All cases arriving from the Palestinian side were subjected to medical examinations, and diagnosed accurately, Abdel Ghaffar added. The wounded were transferred to el-Arish General Hospital, and Bir al-Abd Specialised Hospital in North Sinai. All cases are stable and receive due medical care, he stressed.
Meanwhile, the ministry spokesman said that the medical quarantine doctors at the Rafah crossing also examined some 117 foreign nationals, who entered from the Palestinian side. These included 35 children, who were given polio, measles and meningitis vaccines.
The move is part of implementing a previously prepared plan to deal with the repercussions of the developments in the Gaza Strip, which included raising the level of readiness at hospitals as well as providing trained medical staff, and due medicines, and other medical supplies, according to a ministry press release posted on the Cabinet Facebook account.
The Egyptian al-Qahera News TV channel previously said that the Egyptian authorities had provided 40 ambulances at the Rafah Border Crossing, in preparation for receiving the wounded from Gaza Strip.
It stressed that the authorities had also bolstered the capacity in various North Sinai hospitals, increasing the number of beds of each to offer urgent care to wounded Gazans.
As the border opens, the families of the wounded Palestinians and foreign nationals thanked President 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 organising of the process of evacuating the wounded Palestinian received local, regional and international praise, as the Egyptian authorities allocated equipped ambulances and specialised medical teams to receive the injured.
Meanwhile, the National Alliance for Civil Development Work (NACDW) announced on Wednesday the delivery over the first convoy of humanitarian aid to Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
The convoy, launched on October 14, comprises 108 trucks loaded with food, medicines and medical supplies.
In a press release, the NACDW said this comes within efforts exerted to support Palestinian people through preparing a second convoy of humanitarian aid ahead of entering the enclave through Rafah crossing in coordination with the Egyptian and Palestinian Red Crescent associations.
These convoys are within President Sisi’s directives to provide urgent support and humanitarian aid to Palestine after Israeli aggression on the enclave where thousands were killed and injured.
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