STORY: No indication Israel will open Rafah crossing soon: Palestine's health minister
SHOOTING TIME: May 29, 2024
DATELINE: May 30, 2024
LENGTH: 00:02:10
LOCATION: GENEVA, Switzerland
CATEGORY: POLITICS

SHOTLIST:
1. SOUNDBITE (English): MAJED ABU RAMADAN, Palestine's health minister
2. various of the press briefing

STORYLINE:

There is no indication that Israel will open the Rafah crossing soon, Palestine's health minister said in Geneva, Switzerland, on Wednesday.

"This is totally in the hands of the Israelis," Minister Majed Abu Ramadan told a press briefing.

On May 6, Israel launched a ground assault on Rafah and claimed to have taken control of the Gaza side of the Rafah crossing, which is the only border crossing between the enclave and Egypt. The crossing is also a main conduit for humanitarian aid entering Gaza, and an exit point for medical evacuees from the enclave.

Abu Ramadan said that Israel committed a crime against humanity in Gaza, regardless of the exact death toll.

SOUNDBITE (English): MAJED ABU RAMADAN, Palestine's health minister
"Since it was closed, we have no indication that the Israelis would like it to be opened any(time) soon. This is totally in the hands of the Israelis. Although it is a Palestinian-Egyptian crossing, the Israelis have nothing to do with it, but still, they are closing it. The Israelis are blocking the passages and not allowing it [humanitarian aid and necessities] to go inside Gaza. Also, the closure of the crossing of the Rafah deprived our patients of the right of access to health services. Those who cannot be treated in Gaza are forbidden from going to Egypt and then somewhere else for having the treatment that they need. At the moment, people are deprived of almost all aspects of health services, including children. Neonatology units were destroyed. This is only a part of the situation. The toll in life is tens of thousands. I wouldn't go into the exact numbers. The exact number doesn't matter. What matters is that there is a crime against humanity."

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Geneva, Switzerland.
(XHTV)