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Palestine Reports More Than 2,700 Daily COVID-19 Cases

A Palestinian woman gets vaccinated against COVID-19 at Clalit Health Services in the Palestinian neighborhood of Beit Hanina, in the Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem, on Jan. 12, 2021. (Ahmad Gharabli/AFP)
A Palestinian woman gets vaccinated against COVID-19 at Clalit Health Services in the Palestinian neighborhood of Beit Hanina, in the Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem, on Jan. 12, 2021. (Ahmad Gharabli/AFP)
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Palestine Reports More Than 2,700 Daily COVID-19 Cases

A Palestinian woman gets vaccinated against COVID-19 at Clalit Health Services in the Palestinian neighborhood of Beit Hanina, in the Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem, on Jan. 12, 2021. (Ahmad Gharabli/AFP)
A Palestinian woman gets vaccinated against COVID-19 at Clalit Health Services in the Palestinian neighborhood of Beit Hanina, in the Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem, on Jan. 12, 2021. (Ahmad Gharabli/AFP)

Palestinian Health Minister Mai Alkaila said the country registered on Monday 2,762 new Covid-19 cases and 26 deaths.

The minister said that among the new cases, 998 infections were reported in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, while 1,764 cases were recorded in the Gaza Strip.

Alkaila said 186 Covid-19 patients are receiving treatment in intensive care units, including 54 on ventilators, while 547 others are currently hospitalized across the West Bank.

Regarding the Covid-19 vaccination rollout, Alkaila said that 146,986 people have received the vaccine so far with 113,958 in the West Bank and 33,028 in Gaza. Also, she noted that up to 14,674 people received the second dose of the vaccine.

On Saturday, the Palestinian government announced a partial easing of the lockdown measures during the upcoming holy month of Ramadan.

The movement of individuals and vehicles will be banned everyday from 8 pm to 6 am. A weekly full lockdown will be imposed on Fridays, except for pharmacies and bakeries.

Commercial stores and transportation will be allowed to work on Saturdays under strict measures.

The government had also banned weddings, parties, festivals, and any other forms of public gathering.

Meanwhile, the weekly Friday prayer will be held in public squares, while the daily Tarawih prayers will be held in mosques, as per the protocols of the Ministry of Awqaf and Religious Affairs.

During a cabinet session on Monday, Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh said he announced the cautious easing of COVID-19 restrictions during Ramadan.

He called on residents to continue to wear masks, respect social distancing in addition to avoid iftars and public gatherings.

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Over 100 Patients to Be Evacuated from Gaza, WHO Says

A youth salvages items from the rubble of a building destroyed in Israeli strikes in Deir el-Balah in the central Gaza Strip on November 5, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas movement. (AFP)
A youth salvages items from the rubble of a building destroyed in Israeli strikes in Deir el-Balah in the central Gaza Strip on November 5, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas movement. (AFP)
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Over 100 Patients to Be Evacuated from Gaza, WHO Says

A youth salvages items from the rubble of a building destroyed in Israeli strikes in Deir el-Balah in the central Gaza Strip on November 5, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas movement. (AFP)
A youth salvages items from the rubble of a building destroyed in Israeli strikes in Deir el-Balah in the central Gaza Strip on November 5, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas movement. (AFP)

More than 100 patients including children will be transferred out of the Gaza Strip on Wednesday in a rare medical evacuation from the Palestinian enclave during the Israel-Hamas war, a World Health Organization official said on Tuesday.

The WHO says fewer than 300 patients have been evacuated from Gaza since early May, when Israel expanded its military offensive southwards and took over the southern Rafah Crossing with Egypt, which had been used for medical transfers.

Rik Peeperkorn, WHO representative for the Occupied Palestinian Territory, said the patients, including children with trauma injuries and chronic diseases, would depart in a large convoy via the Kerem Shalom crossing with Israel.

Under arrangements made by the WHO, the patients will then fly to the United Arab Emirates from Ramon Airport in southern Israel, and some will travel on to Romania, he said.

"These are ad hoc measures. What we have requested repeatedly is a sustained medevac (medical evacuation) outside of Gaza," Peeperkorn told a press conference.

Asked whether Israel had approved the transfer, he said he was hopeful it would be facilitated by Israeli authorities.

He said more than 12,000 people were awaiting transfer, adding: "We cannot continue the way we do now."

COGAT, the Israeli military agency responsible for Palestinian affairs, says it actively facilitates the departure of seriously ill or injured patients, adding that the scope of such evacuations was determined by the capacity of organizations and countries to receive them.

As of last week, it said 10 groups of patients had been evacuated through Israel and it was willing to coordinate more.

Peeperkorn was part of a WHO convoy that on Nov. 3 provided some relief for the busy al-Awda and Kamal Adwan hospitals in northern Gaza which he said were barely operational because of medical and staff shortages.

"For al-Awda we are very concerned because the hospital needs urgent fuel and medical supplies, otherwise it might become non-functional over the coming week," he said of the hospital in Jabalia, just north of Gaza City.

Israel accuses Hamas fighters of hiding among civilians, including in hospitals, in the war that began after the deadly Hamas attack on southern Israeli communities on Oct. 7, 2023.

In a night-time raid on the Kamal Adwan Hospital last month, an Israeli military official said around 100 Hamas fighters were captured, some posing as medical staff, along with weapons. Hamas rejected the accusations.