Gazans begin Rafah crossing to Egypt for treatment

RAFAH:

Sick and wounded Gazans began crossing into Egypt to seek medical treatment on Monday after Israel permitted a limited reopening of the Palestinian territory's Rafah border post.

Around 150 people were due to leave the territory on Monday, and 50 to enter it, according to Egyptian officials, more than 20 months after Israeli forces fighting in Gaza closed the crossing.

"Three ambulances have arrived so far carrying a number of the sick and injured, who were immediately screened upon arrival to determine to which hospital they will be transferred," an Egyptian health official told AFP.

The partial resumption of operations comes after Gaza's civil defence reported dozens killed in a wave of Israeli strikes over the weekend, in what the military said was retaliation for Palestinian fighters exiting a tunnel in Rafah city.

The border crossing with Egypt is Gaza's only gateway to the outside world that does not lead to Israel, and is a key access point for both people and goods.

Mahmud, a 38-year-old leukaemia patient from Gaza City, told AFP he felt lucky to be able to travel to Egypt for treatment after receiving approval from Israel to go with his sister.

"In Gaza, there is no treatment and no life... Of course, I am lucky, but I am still sad because my father and mother are still in Gaza," he said.

Ali Shaath, the head of a Palestinian technocratic committee established to oversee the day-to-day governance of Gaza, said Rafah's reopening offered a "window of hope" for the territory.

The partial resumption began on Sunday in a tightly restricted pilot phase that did not involve travel of people, and came after months of appeals from aid groups.

Khaled Mogawer, governor of North Sinai -- which includes the Egyptian side of Rafah -- said on Egypt's state-linked AlQahera News that 50 Palestinian patients and 84 of their companions were expected to enter Egypt on Monday.

Israeli state broadcaster Kan reported that the crossing would be open for about six hours daily, while AlQahera News said the Egyptian side would remain open "round the clock".