Three buses arrived at the Erez crossing, and evacuated about 90 Ukrainian citizens, including women married to Palestinians. At least 120 injured Palestinians and refugees remained at the crossing, awaiting evacuation.
In the meantime, Magen David Adom (MDA) set up special command rooms in Ashdod to deal with the issue of transferring the injured to the appropriate hospitals. Transfers will be carried out in coordination with the Coordination and Liaison Authority and Palestinian sources.
“We know of eight to ten wounded Palestinians, apparently shot, who are supposed to arrive at Erez, but it is still not clear,” said MDA spokesman Shay Alazmy.
“I estimate that most of the wounded will be evacuated to the Barzilai Medical Center in Ashkelon, which is the closest hospital,” Alazmy said, but added that Palestinians suffering from more serious injuries may be evacuated to other hospitals “pending the decision of diplomatic and security sources”.
On Wednesday morning, Defense Minister Ehud Barak ordered the evacuation of seriously wounded Palestinians to hospitals in Israel, and instructed IDF forces to allow paramedics to administer immediate treatment to the injured still waiting at the Erez crossing.
Meital Yasur-Beit Or contributed to this article