Middle East conflict: Egypt treats Gaza wounded

Published on Monday 29 December 2008 16:05

EGYPT began taking in wounded Palestinians from the Gaza Strip today.

They were first driven to the border town of Rafah, where over a dozen Egyptian ambulances waited to move them on.

An Egyptian paramedic said he was told Egypt would take about 20 to 30 Palestinian casualties to the hospital in the Sinai town of El-Arish.

Tariq al-Mahlawi, Egypt's deputy health minister, said Egypt had received only nine cases but that there were about 150 cases in the Gaza hospital's intensive care unit who need to be transported. "I've never seen such an attack," he said of the Israeli offensive.

Mr al-Malawi said the El-Arish hospital has 500 beds ready to treat the Palestinians.

Earlier Egypt allowed trucks with food and medical supplies to pass through the crossing.

Mustafa Ismail, an organiser with a Cairo-based charity that is part of the effort said the trucks were allowed to drop off the supplies inside the terminal but could not enter Gaza proper.

Meanwhile Palestinian gunmen and Egyptian border guards traded gunfire and an Egyptian major was killed. Five other border guards were injured by Palestinian bullets and stones, and an eight-year-old Egyptian child was also wounded by a stray bullet. Palestinian medical officials, for their part, said one Palestinian was shot dead by Egyptian security and four wounded.