Ambassador Alessandro Candeas, Brazilian representative to Palestine, said CNN Saturday morning (11), there is still no possibility for the 34 Brazilians and their families to leave the Gaza Strip through the Rafah crossing, on the border with Egypt.
According to Candeas, the prerequisite for opening the border for the evacuation of foreigners authorized to leave the Palestinian territory is the passage of an ambulance convoy with injured people, who have priority in the queue for cross the border.
The logistics of moving ambulances, however, were hampered after the bombing of major Palestinian health centers.
“There is no prospect of moving these vehicles, because there are hospitals surrounded and attacked, with no possibility of transferring the wounded from the north to the south of the strip,” explained the ambassador.
See also: Brazilians in Gaza wait to leave the territory
The group is awaiting permission to cross the border and, once arriving in Egyptian territory, will travel approximately 55 km by land until reaching Al-Arish Airport, Egypt.
There, a plane from the Presidency of the Republic awaits the Brazilians to leave for Brazil. Before the attacks on hospitals, it was expected that the first flight with returnees from Gaza would arrive on Brazilian soil on Sunday (12).
In addition to the 34 Brazilians already authorized to leave Gaza on a list published last Thursday (9), there is a second group of around 40 people in the region waiting to be included in a future list.
The information was confirmed at CNN by high-ranking members of Itamaraty this Friday (10).
Attacks on hospitals
The Israeli army said that a projectile launched from inside the Gaza Strip failed and hit al-Shifa hospital, the largest in the Palestinian region, this Friday (10).
“Earlier today, the IDF (Israel Defense Forces) received reports of an attack on al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City. The Hamas-run media office in the Gaza Strip immediately claimed that this was an attack carried out by the IDF,” IDF spokesperson Lt. Col. Richard Hecht said in a statement. sent to CNN.
The Israeli military said a review of its operational systems indicated that “a misfired projectile launched by terrorist organizations inside the Gaza Strip hit al-Shifa Hospital.”
Doctors Without Borders claims to have lost contact with its team at al-Shifa hospital.
“Over the past hours, attacks on al-Shifa Hospital have intensified significantly. The (Doctors Without Borders) team at the hospital reported a catastrophic situation inside,” the humanitarian group said in a message on X, formerly Twitter, at 3:43 a.m. (Gaza time) on Friday.
The group said it was extremely concerned about the safety of staff and patients at al-Shifa Hospital, some of whom were in critical condition and unable to move or evacuate.
“There is a patient who needs surgery. There is a patient already sleeping in our department. We can’t evacuate and (leave) these people inside. As a doctor, I am committed to helping people who need it,” said Mohammed Obeid, a surgeon at the hospital.
In northern Gaza, Mustafa al-Kahlout, who heads Al Nasr Hospital and Al Rantisi Pediatric Hospital, said: CNN that they were surrounded by tanks and requested help from the Red Cross to evacuate the scene, also on Friday.
(Published by Gustavo Zanfer, with information from Jussara Soares and CNN International)
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