Update: As Gaza death toll climbs to 88, Egyptian hospitals receive 11 injured

By Thursday evening Egyptian hospitals had received 11 Palestinians injured in the latest Israeli air strike, according to North Sinai deputy health minister Tarek Khater, reported the state-owned Middle East News Agency (MENA).

The Egyptian authorities are facilitating the treatment of Palestinians in hospitals in Cairo and Arish, MENA said.

Security in North Sinai was also ordered to facilitate the movement of ambulances and simplify security procedures at checkpoints on the road.

Sala Sallahm, the head of the North Sinai Doctors Syndicate, has called on the Health Ministry to supply hospitals in the area with medical teams and equipment, according to MENA.

The first two injured cases from Gaza arrived through the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt Thursday morning and were transferred to Arish Hospital, according to Sinai-based journalist Ahmed Abou Deraa. 

Egypt was expected to open the Rafah crossing on Thursday for Palestinians seeking medical care in Egyptian hospitals, the Palestinian Embassy in Egypt stated on Wednesday. Egyptian authorities briefly postponed the opening of the land crossing after Israeli planes struck an ambulance carrying casualties close to the crossing. The ambulance was transporting injured Palestinians to Arish Hospital in North Sinai.

A medical delegation from the Health Ministry headed by Mohamed Sultan, the head of general medical care administration, headed to the crossing to receive the injured coming in from the Gaza Strip.

According to the privately owned Al-Masry Al-Youm, teams of specialized physicians are available in Rafah and Arish in North Sinai to treat those injured, while severe cases will be sent directly to Cairo.

A state of emergency has been declared in all hospitals across northern Sinai, according to the governor, who added that 10 ambulances were sent to the land crossing earlier this morning to transport those injured to hospitals.

Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Badr Abdel Aty issued a statement on Tuesday denouncing the Israeli attack on Gaza and calling on Israel to restraint itself. “Egypt completely rejects and condemns all violence that results in the killing of civilians from both sides,” the official statement added.     

The death toll has climbed to at least 88 after the last air strike this morning, which killed three people in East Gaza. No Israeli deaths have been reported in the latest operation.

The wave of attacks began when three Israeli teenagers were found dead in the West Bank two weeks after their disappearance. In retaliation, a Palestinian teenager was kidnapped from the West Bank and reportedly burnt alive.