Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been accused of halting plans to establish a field hospital in Israel intended for the treatment of sick and injured children from Gaza, the BBC and other Israeli media channels reported Friday.
Establishing a field hospital in Israel had caused rifts between Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, Israeli media reported.
Gallant announced the site earlier this week, YNet noted. It was proposed as a temporary solution to provide medical care while the Rafah crossing remained closed to civilians.
However, on Thursday, the Prime Minister’s Office stated that Netanyahu had not approved the hospital’s establishment and that plans would not proceed.
Gallant mentioned that the temporary hospital aimed to address urgent humanitarian needs until a permanent system for evacuating and treating sick children could be implemented, with the hospital intending to treat conditions such as cancer, diabetes, and orthopedic injuries.
Netanyahu’s office, as noted by the BBC, declared that he “does not approve the establishment of a hospital for Gazans within Israeli territory – therefore, it will not be established.”
The BBC quoted an Israeli official via AFP, who spoke on the condition of anonymity that the Defense Ministry had requested assistance from the Prime Minister’s Office to expedite the evacuation of patients from Gaza two weeks ago but received no response.
Previous evacuation efforts
Major General Roman Gofman, Netanyahu’s military secretary, told Ynet that the field hospital did not proceed due to insufficient progress in establishing a corridor for transporting sick and injured Gazans to other countries.
IDF medical corps asked the Health Ministry and relevant bodies to prepare for the establishment of a medical facility to treat sick Palestinian children, Ynet reported.
Previously, international media reported on Israel and Egypt coordinating to allow sick Gazan children to leave Gaza for medical treatment, and the New York Times noted in late June that 19 sick children, most of them cancer patients, were granted to leave Gaza to receive medical treatment. The operation was coordinated between the United States, Egypt, and other international bodies, the report stated.
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