Palestinians wait at border between Gaza and Egypt as uncertainty clouds reopening of Rafah crossing

KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip (AP) — Palestinians gathered connected some sides of Gaza’s borderline with Egypt connected Tuesday hoping to walk done the Rafah crossing, aft its reopening the erstwhile time was marred by delays, interrogations and uncertainty implicit who would beryllium allowed to cross.

On the Egyptian broadside were Palestinians who fled Gaza earlier successful the Israel-Hamas warfare to question aesculapian treatment, according to Egypt’s state-run Al-Qahera News television. On the Gaza side, Palestinians successful request of aesculapian attraction that is unavailable successful Gaza gathered astatine a infirmary earlier ambulances moved toward Rafah, hoping for connection that they would beryllium allowed to transverse the different way.

The bureau of the North Sinai politician confirmed Tuesday that an chartless fig of patients and their companions had crossed from Gaza into Egypt.

Though hailed arsenic a measurement guardant for the fragile ceasefire struck successful October, it took much than 10 hours for lone astir a twelve returnees and a tiny radical of aesculapian evacuees to transverse successful each absorption connected the archetypal time Rafah reopened.

Three women who crossed into Gaza connected Monday told The Associated Press connected Tuesday that Israeli troops blindfolded and handcuffed them, past interrogated and threatened them, holding them for respective hours earlier they were released.

The numbers permitted to transverse connected Monday fell good abbreviated of the 50 radical that officials had said would beryllium allowed each mode and hardly began to code the needs of tens of thousands of Palestinians who are hoping to beryllium evacuated for attraction oregon to instrumentality home.

The import of humanitarian assistance oregon goods done Rafah remains prohibited.

'Not a solution to the crisis'

Evacuation efforts connected Tuesday greeting converged astir a Red Crescent infirmary successful Khan Younis, wherever a World Health Organization squad arrived and a conveyance carrying patients and their relatives rolled successful from different hospital. Then the radical of WHO vehicles and Palestinian ambulances headed toward Rafah to await crossing.

As the sick, wounded and displaced waited to transverse successful some directions, wellness officials said the tiny fig allowed to exit truthful acold paled beside Gaza's tremendous needs. Two years of warring destroyed overmuch of its aesculapian infrastructure and near hospitals struggling to dainty trauma injuries, amputations and chronic conditions similar cancer.

In Gaza City, Shifa Hospital manager Mohamed Abu Selmiya called the gait “crisis management, not a solution to the crisis,” imploring Israel to licence the importing of aesculapian supplies and equipment. He wrote connected Facebook: “Denying the evacuation of patients and preventing the introduction of medicines is simply a decease condemnation for them.”

U.N. and WHO officials said the trickle of patients allowed retired and restrictions connected bringing successful desperately needed supplies are prolonging a disastrous concern successful Gaza.

"Rafah indispensable relation arsenic a existent humanitarian corridor truthful we tin person a surge successful assistance deliveries,” said Tom Fletcher, the U.N.'s apical alleviation official.

Palestinian Red Crescent spokesperson Raed al-Nims told AP that lone 16 patients with chronic conditions oregon warfare wounds, accompanied by 40 relatives, were brought from Khan Younis to the Gaza broadside of Rafah connected Tuesday — little than the 45 patients and wounded the Red Crescent was told would beryllium allowed.

After days of anticipation implicit the reopening, anticipation lingered that it mightiness people a meaningful archetypal step. In Khan Younis, Iman Rashwan waited for hours until her parent and sister returned from Egypt, hoping others would soon spot their loved ones again.

Waiting connected some sides

Officials accidental the fig of crossings could gradually summation if the strategy works, with Israel and Egypt vetting those allowed successful and out. But information concerns and bureaucratic snags rapidly tempered expectations raised by officials who for weeks had formed reopening arsenic a large measurement successful the ceasefire deal.

There were delays connected Monday implicit disagreements astir luggage allowances. Returnees were carrying much than anticipated with them, requiring further negotiations, a idiosyncratic acquainted with the concern told the AP, speaking connected information of anonymity to sermon the diplomatic matter.

“They didn’t fto america transverse with anything,” Rotana Al-Regeb said arsenic she returned astir midnight Monday to Khan Younis. “They emptied everything earlier letting america through. We were lone allowed to instrumentality the apparel connected our backs and 1 container per person.”

The archetypal fig of Palestinians allowed to transverse is mostly symbolic. Israeli and Egyptian officials person said that 50 aesculapian evacuees would depart — on with 2 caregiver escorts — and 50 Palestinians who near during the warfare would return.

At that pace, agelong waits are facing astir of the astir 20,000 sick and wounded radical who Gaza’s Health Ministry has said request attraction abroad. About 150 hospitals crossed Egypt are acceptable to person patients, authorities said.

Who and what would beryllium allowed done Rafah was a cardinal interest for some Israel and Egypt.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that anyone who wants to permission volition yet beryllium permitted to bash so, but Egypt has repeatedly said the Rafah crossing indispensable unfastened successful some directions, fearing Israel could usage it to propulsion Palestinians retired of Gaza.

Reopening the crossing is considered cardinal arsenic the ceasefire statement moves into a analyzable 2nd phase. That calls for installing a caller Palestinian committee to govern Gaza, deploying an planetary information force, disarming Hamas and taking steps to statesman rebuilding.

In a gathering Tuesday with U.S. peculiar envoy Steve Witkoff successful Jerusalem, Netayanhu repeated Israel’s “uncompromising demand” that Hamas beryllium disarmed earlier immoderate reconstruction begins, the premier minister’s bureau said.

A 19-year-old killed successful confederate Gaza

Nasser Hospital successful Khan Younis said Ahmed Abdel-Al, 19, was changeable and killed by Israeli troops connected Tuesday greeting successful a portion of the confederate Gaza City, immoderate region distant from the country nether the Israeli military's control.

Israel's subject said it was not instantly alert of immoderate shootings successful the area.

Abdel-Al was the latest of the 529 Palestinians killed by Israeli occurrence since the Oct. 10 commencement of the ceasefire, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. They are among much than 71,800 Palestinians killed since the commencement of the war, according to the ministry, which does not separate betwixt fighters and civilians.

The ministry, portion of Gaza’s Hamas-led government, keeps elaborate casualty records that are seen arsenic mostly reliable by U.N. agencies and autarkic experts.

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Magdy reported from Cairo. Associated Press writers Josef Federman and Sam Metz successful Jerusalem contributed to this report.

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