NO WOUNDED PALESTINIANS or dual nationals were evacuated today from the Gaza Strip to Egypt via the Rafah crossing, a Palestinian official said.

The crossing point remained closed due to Israel’s refusal to approve the list of wounded who were to be evacuated, a Hamas official told AFP.

An AFP journalist at the Rafah crossing point today saw a large crowd of people hoping to cross into Egypt during the day.

Mazen Danaf, who holds a German passport, told AFP that the situation in Gaza is “horrible”.

“There is no electricity, no water, no fuel, the hospitals are crowded,” he said.

The Rafah terminal – which connects the bombarded Gaza Strip to Egypt – reopened on 1 November to allow the evacuation of foreigners and dual nationals stranded in the small Palestinian territory.

People wait to leave Gaza outside the Rafah Crossing in Southern Gaza. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNWRA) and the World Health Organisation (WHO) has urgently called for emergency medical aid to be delivered into the Palestinian territory of Gaza.

Medical facilities are running out of supplies and fuel as, so far, no fuel has been allowed enter into the Gaza Strip, including to Al-Shifa hospital for over one month now. 

There was then a two-day closure after deadly Israeli strikes hit ambulances headed for the border, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent and the Hamas-run health ministry.

UNRWA and WHO renew their urgent call for the delivery of fuel to humanitarian agencies in the Gaza Strip.

“Without fuel, hospitals and other essential facilities such as desalination plants and bakeries cannot operate, and more people will most certainly die as a result,” both organisations said today.

Egypt has said it would help evacuate around 7,000 foreigners through the crossing.

© AFP 2023, includes reporting from Muiris O’Cearbhaill