عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Arab World

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
TT
TT

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.

Most Viewed

 
 
Arab World

Lebanon Assesses Damage after Israel Strikes Hezbollah-run Financial Institution

Rescue workers use a bulldozer to remove rubble of destroyed buildings a the site of an Israeli airstrike on Sunday night that hit several branches of the Hezbollah-run al-Qard al-Hassan in Beirut's southern suburb, Lebanon, Monday, Oct. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
Rescue workers use a bulldozer to remove rubble of destroyed buildings a the site of an Israeli airstrike on Sunday night that hit several branches of the Hezbollah-run al-Qard al-Hassan in Beirut's southern suburb, Lebanon, Monday, Oct. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
TT
TT

Lebanon Assesses Damage after Israel Strikes Hezbollah-run Financial Institution

Rescue workers use a bulldozer to remove rubble of destroyed buildings a the site of an Israeli airstrike on Sunday night that hit several branches of the Hezbollah-run al-Qard al-Hassan in Beirut's southern suburb, Lebanon, Monday, Oct. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
Rescue workers use a bulldozer to remove rubble of destroyed buildings a the site of an Israeli airstrike on Sunday night that hit several branches of the Hezbollah-run al-Qard al-Hassan in Beirut's southern suburb, Lebanon, Monday, Oct. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

Lebanese were surveying the damage on Monday after overnight Israeli strikes hit nearly a dozen branches of a Hezbollah-run financial institution that Israel says is used to fund attacks but where many ordinary people keep their savings.

The strikes targeted Al-Qard Al-Hassan branches in the southern neighborhoods of Beirut, across southern Lebanon and in the eastern Bekaa Valley, where Hezbollah has a strong presence. One strike flattened a nine-story building in Beirut with a branch inside it. Smoke rose from several locations on Monday.

The Israeli military issued evacuation warnings ahead of the strikes. There were no reports of casualties, The AP reported.

Israel invaded Lebanon earlier this month, saying it aims to push Hezbollah from the border after more than a year of rocket, missile and drone attacks that began after Palestinian Hamas militants launched their surprise Oct. 7, 2023, attack into Israel from the Gaza Strip. Israeli airstrikes have pounded large areas of Lebanon for weeks, forcing over a million people to flee their homes.

The United States is hoping to revive diplomatic efforts to resolve both conflicts after the killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar in the Gaza Strip last week, but so far all sides appear to be digging in.

Hezbollah-run lender filled gaps left by Lebanon's troubled banks The Arabic language spokesman for the Israeli military, Avichay Adraee, said warplanes targeted several locations “used to store money for the military arm of Hezbollah," including Al-Qard Al-Hassan, which he said finances arms purchases and is used to pay fighters.

He said Hezbollah stores hundreds of millions of dollars in the branches, without providing evidence, and that the strikes were aimed at preventing the group from rearming.

The institution has more than 30 branches across Lebanon. It tried to reassure customers, saying it had evacuated all branches and relocated gold and other deposits to safe areas.

Many customers are civilians unaffiliated with Hezbollah. The registered nonprofit has long served as an alternative to Lebanon's banks, which have imposed restrictions in the face of a severe financial crisis that began in 2019.

Bulldozers cleared mounds of rubble at the site of one strike. Clothes, furniture and the remains of a beauty salon were seen in the debris. Al-Qard al-Hassan documents were scattered across the area, but there was no sign of cash or other valuables.