Hamas Govt Suspends Evacuation of Foreigners to Egypt

Rafah, the border crossing into Gaza that Egypt had promised to open on Friday, is the only crossing into the blockaded Palestinian territory that is not controlled by Israel. MOHAMMED ABED / AFP
Rafah, the border crossing into Gaza that Egypt had promised to open on Friday, is the only crossing into the blockaded Palestinian territory that is not controlled by Israel. MOHAMMED ABED / AFP
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Hamas Govt Suspends Evacuation of Foreigners to Egypt

Rafah, the border crossing into Gaza that Egypt had promised to open on Friday, is the only crossing into the blockaded Palestinian territory that is not controlled by Israel. MOHAMMED ABED / AFP
Rafah, the border crossing into Gaza that Egypt had promised to open on Friday, is the only crossing into the blockaded Palestinian territory that is not controlled by Israel. MOHAMMED ABED / AFP

Gaza's Hamas government suspended the evacuation of foreign passport holders to Egypt Saturday after Israel refused to allow some wounded Palestinians to be evacuated to Egyptian hospitals, a border official said.

"No foreign passport holder will be able to leave the Gaza Strip until wounded people who need to be evacuated from hospitals in north Gaza are transported through the Rafah crossing" to Egypt, the official said on condition of anonymity.

An Egyptian security source confirmed to AFP that "no wounded person or holder of a foreign passport arrived at the Egyptian terminal" of Rafah on Saturday.

He said the evacuation was suspended "after the bombing of ambulances transporting injured people who were on their way to the Egyptian terminal".

On Friday, the Israeli army announced it had struck an ambulance outside Al-Shifa hospital, Gaza's largest, saying it was "used by a Hamas terrorist cell".

At least 15 people were killed and 60 wounded in the strike, according to the health ministry in Gaza.

Israel launched a war against Hamas in Gaza following the October 7 attacks which claimed 1,400 lives -- mostly civilians -- according to Israel.

The Hamas-run health ministry says air, land and sea attacks on Gaza have killed nearly 9,500 Palestinians.



Arab League to Mark International Day of Solidarity with Palestinian People on Sunday

A previous meeting of the Arab League (Asharq Al-Awsat)
A previous meeting of the Arab League (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Arab League to Mark International Day of Solidarity with Palestinian People on Sunday

A previous meeting of the Arab League (Asharq Al-Awsat)
A previous meeting of the Arab League (Asharq Al-Awsat)

The General Secretariat of the Arab League will mark the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, as recognized by the United Nations General Assembly, with an event at its headquarters on Sunday.

The event will bring together permanent representatives to the league, ambassadors, representatives of foreign countries, and Arab and international organizations to emphasize unwavering solidarity with the Palestinian people in their pursuit of legitimate rights, SPA reported.
According to a statement issued by the General Secretariat on Thursday, several Palestinian and international personalities and institutions will be honored at the event in recognition of their solidarity with the Palestinian people, their support for the just Palestinian cause, and their efforts to confront the violations and crimes committed by the occupying forces.
The Arab League emphasized that this year's International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People comes amid ongoing acts of extermination and a brutal Israeli war of aggression lasting over a year. It called for unified international efforts to pressure Israel to cease its aggression and create a political path to end the occupation, achieve lasting peace, and establish an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital.