Egypt prepares to receive injured Palestinians and their families, if they are allowed out of Gaza

Preparations are taking place in Egypt to treat some of the Palestinians injured in Israel’s ongoing onslaught on the Gaza Strip and accommodate people accompanying the wounded.

That is if the Palestinians are ever allowed out of Gaza.

The North Sinai Governorate is also currently hosting some of the Palestinians still stuck in Egypt after they were shut out of their homes in the besieged coastal enclave by the war raging to Egypt’s north.

Since Hamas’s unprecedented October 7 operation, Israel’s assault on Gaza has been unceasing, as it escalated operations in recent days to include ground and sea attacks, along with even heavier bombardments. The Israeli assault has killed 8,525 people and left 21,543 wounded, while the health system in Gaza has been reduced to shreds.

North Sinai General Secretary Osama al-Ghandour said on Monday that Egypt is ready to receive injured Palestinians and treat them in Egyptian hospitals. “Three places are ready to be allocated in Sheikh Zuwayed and Arish as housing for people accompanying the wounded,” said Ghandour, “if they are allowed in.”

So far, the Rafah border crossing that connects southern Gaza to North Sinai has remained closed to people wishing to enter or exit. Health facilities have been prepared in North Sinai to respond to wounded patients coming in from Gaza, including field hospitals and a triage unit at the border. But there has been no official commentary on whether and how the injured can exit Gaza for treatment in Egypt.

In the meantime, hospitals in Gaza are completely incapacitated. A “complete siege,” as ordered by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has prevented supplies of food, water, medical aid and fuel from reaching the strip, with the exception of aid shipments trickling in via Egypt.

But Israel has also stipulated conditions on aid deliveries, restricting their passage with cumbersome security checks that require the trucks to take a 100-kilometer detour from the Rafah border crossing before entering Palestine and enforcing a total prohibition that prevents essential supplies, such as fuel, from crossing the border. Egypt has criticized the Israeli restrictions.

Deprived of supplies, the health system in Gaza is now unable to respond to the huge number of wounded people, the Palestinian Health Ministry has said, while airstrikes have targeted hospitals in northern Gaza, including Al-Ahli Arab Baptist Hospital, where over 500 people were killed, Al-Quds Hospital and the Turkish and Palestinian Friendship Hospital in recent days.

Calling for the Rafah border crossing to be opened last week, Palestinian Health Ministry Spokesperson Ashraf al-Qudra said that the health system in Gaza is in a state of “total collapse.” Hamas also said that it is calling for the border to be opened “on a permanent basis for the transfer of the wounded and the flow of aid to all areas of the Gaza Strip,” according to state-aligned domestic outlet, Sada al-Balad.

Though preparations are taking place to receive some wounded Palestinians for treatment, Egypt has strongly rejected the permanent displacement of Palestinians from Gaza into Egypt.

In North Sinai, meanwhile, LE12 million has been allocated by the Social Solidarity Ministry to the governorate to support those stranded in Egypt, as well as any needs related to the governorate during this crisis and other aspects of assistance inside North Sinai, Social Solidarity Directorate General Director Ali Gheit said on Sunday, according to the privately owned Al-Shorouk news outlet.

To house the 300 or so Palestinians who are stuck outside of Gaza, two social housing units in Arish have been earmarked for them and “volunteers in civil society organizations started preparing the apartments,” Gheit continued.

“140 mattresses, pillows, food and personal hygiene bags were provided by the directorate to accommodate the stranded,” Gheit said, adding that the governor decided to set up a kitchen for the preparation of meals in the same place.

Some of the Palestinians stranded in Egypt due to the war spoke to Mada Masr on October 16, stating that they still want to return to Gaza. “We have families that are getting bombed. They’re hungry and at risk of dying — we cannot leave them,” said one.