Palestinian health authorities say 45 patients and injured people have been evacuated for treatment outside the war-ravaged Gaza Strip.
They left the European Hospital in the southern city of Khan Younis early on Tuesday and travelled through the Kerem Shalom Crossing into Israel. They will receive treatment in the United Arab Emirates.
The patients are accompanied by over 100 of their relatives, according to the hospital.
Among them was a 10-year-old boy, Abdullah Abu Yousef, who is suffering from kidney failure. The child was accompanied by his sister after the Israeli authorities rejected his mother’s application to join him.
Israel says it screens those accompanying the patients for security.
“The boy is sick,” said his mother, Abeer Abu Yousef. “He requires haemodialysis three to four days a week.”
The Health Ministry said several thousand Palestinians in Gaza require medical treatment abroad.
Israel has controlled all entry and exit points since capturing the southern city of Rafah in May.
The Israeli offensive, launched after Hamas’ October 7 attack in 2023, has gutted the territory’s healthcare system and forced most of its hospitals to close.
Those that remain open are only partially functioning.