Israel announces the opening of the Rafah crossing to allow Palestinians to exit into Egypt

Agencies – Gaza:

Israel announced that it will open the Rafah crossing in the coming days, to allow Palestinians to exit Gaza into Egypt.

The statement issued by the Coordination Committee of Government Activities in the Territories, the Israeli military body responsible for facilitating aid to Gaza, did not say whether there were any restrictions on who would be allowed to leave Gaza.

For his part, an official with Doctors Without Borders appealed to countries to open their doors to tens of thousands of Gazans in dire need of medical evacuation, warning that hundreds had died while waiting for that.

The World Health Organization estimates that more than 8,000 patients have been evacuated from Gaza since the outbreak of war following the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, while it says that more than 16,500 patients still need treatment outside the Palestinian Strip.