Defense Minister Yoav Gallant approved in principle a request by an Emirati team to enter the northern Gaza Strip to check the feasibility of founding a new Emirati hospital, the Jerusalem Post learned on Sunday.
The Emirati request required that the team, arriving by boat, receive precedence in entry to the Ashdod Port, as well as an exemption for customs payments.Approval was given only for the team to conduct a preliminary tour to check the feasibility of the project. Only the team’s preliminary tour to assess the project’s feasibility received approval. If possible, the actual hospital’s founding will require approval from Israel’s national security cabinet.
The request was approved on July 31, and the defense minister’s office did not respond by press time to the Post’s query for further information, such as when the team was scheduled to enter the Strip.
More aid expected to reach Gaza
The report came as part of ongoing negotiations between Israel and Hamas regarding a temporary ceasefire deal that would include the gradual release of hostages.Israel currently controls the flow of people and goods between northern and southern Gaza, and its ability to continue doing so is reportedly a central point of contention between the sides.According to a July 31 report by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), there are currently 16 partially functional hospitals in the Gaza Strip, including three in northern Gaza, seven in Gaza City, three in Deir al Balah, and three in Khan Yunis. There are also eight field hospitals, four fully and four partially functional.