Minister Caroline Gennez (Forward): “More Belgians will be able to leave Gaza today and in the coming days”

The Jabalia refugee camp in the Gaza Strip has been hit by bombing for the third day in a row. This is reported by news channel Al Jazeera. Three Palestinians are said to have been killed and many injured.

The camp, in the north of Gaza, was also hit by air strikes yesterday and the day before. According to Israel, leaders of the extremist Palestinian movement Hamas were killed. According to Hamas, 195 people were killed in the attacks and 120 people remain under the rubble. There were also 777 injuries. Those figures have not yet been independently verified.

Palestinians searched for people under the rubble yesterday.
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A Belgian employee of Doctors Without Borders is said to have been able to cross the border into Egypt yesterday. There are still 175 Belgians and close relatives in the Gaza Strip. “Several Belgians have now been put on the list,” says Minister of Development Cooperation Caroline Gennez (Vooruit).

“It is difficult to keep in touch with the Belgians on the ground, but we keep trying. Those who want will be evacuated today or in the coming days. They will then be taken care of in Egypt for a few days to recover. Some will come to Belgium, others want to stay nearby.“

“It is very important that people get to the border crossing safely. There are people who are still stuck in the north. There is permanent bombardment on the road to Rafah. People are afraid to leave.”

Gennez reiterates her call for a ceasefire. “There must be a humanitarian corridor for people and aid supplies. This catastrophe is getting worse by the hour. 9,000 innocent Palestinians have already been killed. This is absolutely contrary to humanitarian law and the laws of war.”

About 300 people with foreign passports and 80 seriously injured people left the Gaza Strip for Egypt yesterday. It was the first time since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas on October 7 that the Rafah border crossing was open to residents.

“There are about 7,000 people with a foreign passport and more than 100 seriously injured people on the list. The intention is that they can all cross the border in the coming days,” says correspondent Ruth Vandewalle in Egypt.

“Egypt is fully prepared. There is a field hospital on the border, where injured people can be checked before they go to other hospitals.”

Israel still refuses to allow fuel into the Gaza Strip, saying it fears the fuel will end up in the hands of Hamas.

The main generator of the so-called Indonesian Hospital in the Gazan city of Bait Lahia is now no longer operational due to a lack of fuel. This was reported by the Gaza Ministry of Health.

The hospital’s oxygen station has stopped, as have ventilation and air conditioning. Refrigerators used to keep bodies cool also don’t work. According to Al Jazeera, the hospital is now forced to use a backup generator for a few days before it is completely closed.

Despite the first evacuations of Palestinian patients and foreigners, there are still more than 20,000 injured people in the Gaza Strip. This is what Doctors Without Borders (MSF) says.

“Those injured have limited access to health care as a result of the siege and continued bombardment by the Israeli army.” The organization calls for more residents to be evacuated.

“Those who wish to leave Gaza must be able to do so without further delay and without prejudice to their right to return to Gaza at a later date,” MSF said, calling for an “immediate ceasefire.”

US President Joe Biden has said a “pause” is needed in the war between Israel and Hamas. Various American media report this. “I think we need a break. This will give you time to get the hostages out of Gaza.”

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said last week that “humanitarian pauses should be considered” so that essential aid such as food, water and medicine can flow into Gaza.