Israel continued for the seventh consecutive day to close the Rafah land crossing, which is designated for the travel of patients, the wounded, and the return of stranded people to and from Gaza via the border with Egypt. It also imposed new restrictions on the evacuation of travelers, including patients and the wounded, through the Kerem Abu Salem crossing towards Jordan, and from there to other Arab and European countries. The Israeli occupation forces are preventing travelers, patients, the wounded, and their companions from leaving without any explanations. Meanwhile, reports circulating in the Gaza Strip indicate disagreements regarding new arrangements about the possibility of deploying a private security company to secure the transfer of patients from the Strip to the Rafah crossing gate. As of Monday afternoon, no information has been specified about when the crossing might reopen, although sources in the Strip suggested it could be operational on Tuesday or a few days after. A few days ago, the Gaza Ministry of Health had said that ‘the current list of patients and the wounded, totaling 21,000 people, would require a full four years to evacuate under the current travel mechanism, not counting any new medical cases.’
