3 hours ago
Last Updated:February 01, 2025, 17:49 IST
Rafah crossing has been closed since May after Israel seized the Palestinian side.
A former Palestinian prisoner released by Israel is greeted by his mother upon his arrival in Ramallah on buses of the Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). (IMAGE: AFP)
The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said 50 Palestinian patients went through the Rafah crossing to Egypt on Saturday, as the key gateway reopened as part of a ceasefire deal with Israel.
Egyptian state-linked channel Al-Qahera News showed footage of the first of 50 evacuees and 53 companions, including a child with an autoimmune disease, crossing the border into Egypt to receive treatment.
“From the medical files, 50 were approved by Egypt. We hope for this number to increase," said Muhammad Zaqout, the director of Gaza hospitals.
“We now have 6,000 cases ready to be transferred, and more than 12,000 cases that are in dire need of treatment."
The Rafah crossing had been closed since Israel seized its Palestinian side in May.
The crossing with Egypt was one of the main entry points into the Palestinian territory and a vital conduit for aid.
The European Union’s foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said on Friday the 27-member bloc had deployed a monitoring mission at the Rafah crossing “at the request of the Palestinians and the Israelis".
“It will support Palestinian border personnel and allow the transfer of individuals out of Gaza, including those who need medical care," she wrote on X.
The reopening of the gateway came as Israel and Hamas carried out their fourth hostage-prisoner swap of the Gaza ceasefire on Saturday, as part of a truce agreement that came into effect on January 19.
Hamas released three Israeli hostages in Gaza on Saturday in exchange for more than 180 Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails.
Bus with released Palestinians reaches West Bank town: AFP
Beitunia, Palestinian Territories
A bus carrying Palestinian prisoners arrived at the West Bank town of Beitunia where the inmates disembarked after they were freed from Ofer prison on Saturday, an AFP journalist reported.
The inmates departed from the Israeli prison in the occupied West Bank after three Israeli hostages were handed over by Hamas in Gaza in a fourth such exchange agreed under the ceasefire deal.
An AFP correspondent reported that the bus had reached Beitunia near Ramallah where prisoners disembarked and were greeted by cheering crowds of relatives.
(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed - AFP)Location :Gaza City, Palestinian Territories
First Published:February 01, 2025, 17:48 IST
News world Israel Frees Palestinian Prisoners, Dozens Reach Egypt For Medical Treatment Through Rafah
