Turkish medical delegation in Gaza to treat war casualties

A joint Palestinian medical task force said on Friday that a Turkish medical delegation arrived in the Gaza Strip to help treat Palestinian casualties caused by the Israeli war, Anadolu news agency reported.

In a statement the task force said that the Turkish delegation, which consists of six senior surgeons, passed into the Strip through the Erez Crossing between Gaza and Israel to join Palestinian medical staff at Al-Shifa Hospital, the largest in Gaza.

The task force consists of representatives from several ministries, including the health and welfare ministries. It was formed by the Palestinian reconciliation government to coordinate assistance and aid delegations entering into Gaza.

Anadolu said that it had not had an opportunity to check with the Egyptians why the Turkish delegation was not allowed to enter to the Strip through the Rafah Crossing, between Gaza and Egypt.

Turkey transferred 25 wounded Palestinians on two plane trips with Turkish Airlines to its hospitals in Ankara. This was part of its plan to treat 200 people in its hospitals. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced that his country is ready to treat all of the wounded.

For about two weeks Egypt has been brokering ceasefire talks between Palestinian fighters and the Israeli occupation. Currently, Palestinian and Israeli sides are discussing a new Egyptian 11 point proposal and are to resume indirect talks through Egypt on Sunday.

The Israeli war on Gaza claimed the lives of more than 1,960 Palestinians and wounded more than 10,000 others.

Official Israeli statistics says that 67 Israelis were killed, including three civilians and 64 troops. More than 1,000, including 650 troops were also wounded. Hamas’ military wing said that it counted 161 Israeli troops killed by its fighters in the battlefield.