Sick and wounded Palestinians leave Gaza as Rafah crossing reopens

Footage of the evacuees shows Palestinian children in stretchers and ambulances arriving at the border crossing.

“We have been waiting for this day impatiently,” Mai Khader Abdul Ghani, whose son, Moatasem Billah Rami Nabil Sammour, has a rare autoimmune disease, told BBC Arabic’s Gaza Today.

She said her son was placed in intensive care at Gaza’s Nasser Hospital and had been suffering from severe pain over the past three months.

“Thank God that his name was included in the referral for treatment. I hope that his suffering comes to an end after receiving the appropriate treatment,” she said.

Her son said he had been in great pain while waiting to be referred to a hospital in Egypt.

“I have severe difficulty moving, my mouth has ulcers, and I also have difficulty eating, drinking, and everything,” he said.

Mohammed Abu Jalala was also among those accompanying relatives crossing the border for medical treatment. He said his niece Lara Abu Jalala had suffered serious injuries to her feet after a bombing, which killed her parents and brothers.

“One foot was so badly damaged that it had to be amputated. We tried to avoid the amputation, but it had to be performed as the foot had gangrene in the bone,” he said. “The other is still injured and needs treatment, and the amputation needs follow-up and treatment.”