Egypt’s Minister of Health and Population, Khaled Abdel Ghaffar, visited the Bir al-Abd Hospital in North Sinai on Saturday to check on the services provided to the Palestinians who were injured by Israel’s aggression on the Gaza Strip.
Abdel Ghaffar expressed the Egyptian state’s solidarity with the Palestinian cause and its commitment to provide emergency and medical services to the wounded through Egyptian hospitals. He spoke with the injured, checked on their health conditions, and ensured that all their needs were met. He also instructed the medical staff to provide all the necessary support to the injured until they recover.
Hossam Abdel Ghaffar, the official spokesperson for the Ministry of Health and Population, said that five cases underwent delicate surgical operations in various specialties, including surgical and thoracic exploration, fractures, and amputations. He added that the minister ordered the provision of prosthetic limbs for the amputees and the immediate performance of the required surgeries according to the patient’s status. He also said that there was continuous coordination with all the concerned authorities to receive the injured and provide them with the best medical care.
During a press conference at the Rafah border crossing, Abdel Ghaffar said that Egyptian medical teams have been present in large numbers in North Sinai hospitals for more than 20 days, preparing to offer medical and emergency services to the Palestinian brothers and sisters. He said that about 150 ambulances were stationed near the Rafah crossing and other locations in North Sinai.
Abdel Ghaffar said that the injuries received were mostly severe and that at least 60% of them were children and women, some of whom lost limbs, and others who suffered from shrapnel injuries to the brain, eyes, and lungs. He said that Egypt receives about 40 to 50 Palestinians injured daily and that it can accommodate many more. He said that the injured were transferred to hospitals in Port Said, Ismailia, and Cairo, depending on their needs. He thanked all the medical teams who participated in receiving and treating the Palestinians and praised their professionalism and dedication.
The minister also said that “the psychological impact that the Palestinians are going through is no less important and dangerous than their physical injuries, so psychological rehabilitation begins from the first moment they are received at the Rafah border crossing.” He noted that there was no actual need for a field hospital at the moment.
