Israel lets 19 kids leave Gaza who are sick or wounded, first medical evacuation in nearly 2 months By MOHAMMAD JAHJOUH, WAFAA SHURAFA and KAREEM CHEHAYEB Associated PressKHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip — Israeli authorities say 68 people — 19 sick or wounded children plus their companions — have been allowed out of the Gaza Strip and into Egypt in the first medical evacuation since early May, when the territory's sole travel crossing was shut down after Israel captured it.
The children and their companions left Gaza via the Kerem Shalom cargo crossing, and the patients were to travel to Egypt and farther abroad for medical treatment. The Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt, the only one available for people to travel in or out, shut down after Israeli forces captured it during their operation in the city early last month. Egypt has refused to reopen its side of the crossing until the Gaza side is returned to Palestinian control.
He said the cases included in Thursday's evacuation are"a drop in the ocean" and that the complicated route through Kerem Shalom and into Egypt cannot serve as an alternative to the Rafah crossing. The fact that fewer than 70 people left the territory Thursday"after two months the crossing has been closed is beyond tragic," said Tania Hary executive director of Gisha."Our sense of it is that it's just unsustainable in terms of a response."