Turkey to set up field hospital near Rafah Border Crossing – Health Minister

ANKARA, December 7 (Sputnik) – Turkey is considering setting up a field hospital near the Rafah border crossing to treat those injured in Gaza and has discussed the issue with Israel, Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said on Thursday.

“I have held talks with the Israeli and Egyptian health ministers. In the coming days, we will have the opportunity to establish a field hospital at this location with better infrastructure,” Koca was quoted as saying by Turkish newspaper Hurriyet.

Feasibility studies were carried out to find a suitable location for deploying the field hospital, the minister added.

“Our team examined three settlements in Gaza. We concluded that all three settlements were not suitable in terms of infrastructure. Feasibility studies were conducted for a fourth settlement. We believe that the fourth location, closer to the Rafah border gate, would be suitable,” Koca said.

On October 7, Palestinian movement Hamas launched a large-scale rocket attack against Israel from the Gaza Strip and breached the border. Israel launched retaliatory strikes and ordered a complete blockade of Gaza, cutting off supplies of water, food, and fuel. On October 27, Israel launched a ground incursion into the Gaza Strip with the declared goal of eliminating Hamas fighters and rescuing the hostages.

On November 24, Qatar mediated a deal between Israel and Hamas on a temporary truce and the exchange of some of the prisoners and hostages, as well as the delivery of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip was conducted. The truce was extended several times and expired last Friday.