Qatar receives 12th batch of injured Palestinians from Gaza

By Nour Abu Eisha

GAZA CITY, Palestine (AA) - Qatar received the 12th batch of Palestinians from Gaza who were injured in the course of the Israeli devastating onslaught since Oct. 7.

Minister of State for International Cooperation, Lolwah Al-Khater, told the Qatar News Agency (QNA) that the arrivals are part of Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani's initiative to medically treat 1,500 Palestinians but he did not specify how many victims arrived in the batch.

She said the Israeli army's "deliberate targeting of the health infrastructure sector has led to almost complete paralysis of hospitals and health facilities there."

The main challenge for transferring the injured outside Gaza is getting Israeli security permits, she said, stressing that Qatar is exerting efforts and cooperation to overcome the obstacle with Egypt, along with Italy and France -- both of which have floating hospitals at the port of Al-Arish in Egypt.

On Dec. 4, Qatar received the first batch of injured Palestinians.

The Health Ministry in Gaza said Monday that the Israeli denial of travel permits to injured Palestinians causes death to many severely injured victims.

The ministry said more than 7,000 injured Palestinians need to travel abroad to complete their medical treatments outside Gaza.

Israel launched a deadly offensive on the Gaza Strip on Oct. 7 that has killed at least 27,131 Palestinians and injured 66,287 after a surprise attack by the Palestine resistance group, Hamas.

Nearly 1,200 Israelis are believed to have been killed in the Hamas attack.

The Israeli offensive has left 85% of Gaza’s population internally displaced amid acute shortages of food, clean water and medicine, while 60% of the enclave’s infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar