Gaza Evacuations Suspended since Saturday after Israel Targeted Ambulance

Ambulances parked near the Rafah border crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt (EPA)
Ambulances parked near the Rafah border crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt (EPA)
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Gaza Evacuations Suspended since Saturday after Israel Targeted Ambulance

Ambulances parked near the Rafah border crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt (EPA)
Ambulances parked near the Rafah border crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt (EPA)

Evacuations of injured Gazans and foreign passport holders through the Rafah crossing to Egypt have been suspended since Saturday, two Egyptian security sources and a medical source told Reuters.

One of the security sources and the medical source said the evacuations were suspended after an Israeli strike on Friday on an ambulance in Gaza being used to transport injured people.

The Rafah crossing to Egypt's Sinai peninsula is the only exit point from Gaza not controlled by Israel. Aid trucks were still able to travel into the territory, two of the sources said.

Evacuations began on Wednesday under an internationally brokered deal aimed at letting some foreign passport holders, their dependents and some wounded Gazans out of the enclave.



WHO Says Polio Mass Vaccination Campaign to Resume in Gaza 

Palestinian families gather at Gaza port to enjoy and watch the sunset, 17 February 2025. (EPA)
Palestinian families gather at Gaza port to enjoy and watch the sunset, 17 February 2025. (EPA)
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WHO Says Polio Mass Vaccination Campaign to Resume in Gaza 

Palestinian families gather at Gaza port to enjoy and watch the sunset, 17 February 2025. (EPA)
Palestinian families gather at Gaza port to enjoy and watch the sunset, 17 February 2025. (EPA)

The World Health Organization said on Wednesday that a mass campaign to vaccinate children against polio in Gaza would resume on Saturday, with over half a million children targeted.

"The current environment in Gaza, including overcrowding in shelters and severely damaged water, sanitation and hygiene infrastructure, which facilitates fecal-oral transmission, create ideal conditions for further spread of poliovirus," the WHO statement said.

"Extensive population movement consequent to the current ceasefire is likely to exacerbate the spread of poliovirus infection," it added.