Health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza says 50 patients cross into Egypt via Rafah

A convoy with some vehicles carrying wounded Palestinians and patients moves towards Rafah crossing before they leave Gaza for treatment abroad on Feb. 1, 2025. (Reuters)

• “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“

GAZA CITY: The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said 50 Palestinian patients, including 30 children with cancer, went through the Rafah crossing to Egypt on Saturday as the key gateway reopened as part of a ceasefire deal.
Egyptian state-linked channel Al-Qahera News showed footage of the first of 50 evacuees, including a child with an autoimmune disease, and their 53 companions 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 group that crossed via Rafah on Saturday included the 30 child cancer patients, 19 injured men and one injured woman, along with their companions, Zaqout said.
The Rafah crossing had been closed since Israel seized its Palestinian side in May.
The crossing 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 that 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 under the Gaza ceasefire, which came into effect on January 19.
Hamas released three Israeli hostages from Gaza on Saturday in exchange for more than 180 Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails.