Patients and wounded Palestinians were left waiting inside ambulances in Khan Yunis, southern Gaza, after Israel suspended the planned third medical evacuation through the Rafah border crossing. The crossing, Gaza’s only exit to Egypt, had reopened on February 2 after nearly two years of closure.
The Palestinian Red Crescent said Israel cancelled the evacuation while preparations were underway, leaving patients from the Rehabilitation Hospital in Khan Yunis stranded. Spokesperson Raed Al-Nams warned that delays pose serious risks, especially for surgery and cancer patients, noting that only 21 patients have been allowed to leave Gaza so far. Israel’s military coordination body COGAT said the crossing opened as planned, blaming procedural issues in coordination by the World Health Organization.
Muhammed Rabah