GAZA CITY: Eleven Arab doctors crossed into the Gaza Strip from Egypt late Friday to treat Palestinians wounded in Israel’s punishing two-week-old offensive in the Hamas-ruled territory.
The doctors crossed at the border town of Rafah, according to Adel Zaarub, a spokesman for the crossing, which has only rarely been opened in recent years amid an Israeli and Egyptian blockade of the territory.
The doctors include nine Egyptians, a Yemeni and a Moroccan, Zarub said, adding that another 19 doctors were expected to cross into Gaza soon thereafter, though he did not specify when.
Moawiya Hassanein, the head of Gaza emergency services, meanwhile said local medics needed an additional 20 ambulances to cope with the thousands of Gazans wounded since the operation began on Dec. 27.
On Friday 10 trucks of medical supplies donated by Arab countries arrived in Gaza as well as three ambulances sent from Jordan, Hassanein said.
Hassanein said a severely wounded man was able to cross into Egypt through Rafah for treatment but said no more victims could pass because Israeli tanks had sealed off the area.
At least 885 Palestinians have been killed since the offensive began and more than 3,300 have been wounded, overwhelming Gaza’s health sector, weakened by a blockade tightened after Hamas seized power in June 2007. – AFP
