Israel-Hamas war: British surgeon says he is out ‘at last’ after spending nearly a month trapped in Gaza
A British surgeon who was trapped in the Gaza Strip for nearly a month after the conflict between Israel and Hamas broke out has said he is out “at last”.
NHS consultant surgeon Abdel Hammad, who lives in Liverpool, is among a group of British nationals who were able to enter Egypt via the Rafah border crossing on Thursday.
The 67-year-old medic told Sky News he was on a bus heading to the Egyptian capital Cairo with a British family of eight and an Australian person.
Follow live: Israeli forces push into Gaza City
Mr Hammad, who had been waiting for an evacuation since the day after the latest conflict broke out on 7 October when Hamas militants attacked Israeli communities, said he entered a “no man’s land” at the border on Thursday morning before crossing into Egypt.
“At last we are out. I am on the bus… we are going to stay the night in Cairo and hopefully we can catch a flight tomorrow.
“The bus was organised by the British embassy in Cairo.”
The surgeon volunteers for the charity Liverpool International Transplant Initiative in his spare time and has been travelling to Gaza since 2013.
The Rafah border crossing, the only gateway out of Gaza not controlled by Israel, is operated by Egypt and is only opened intermittently before closing again.
The Foreign Office had confirmed earlier that a group of British nationals had been able to enter Egypt from Gaza via the crossing.
A Palestinian boy, who holds an Egyptian passport, rests next to his family as they wait for permission to leave Gaza
The total number of UK nationals who have been able to leave the Palestinian territory via the crossing since the conflict began has not been confirmed by the government department.
It is also not clear how many British people remain in Gaza but the number is thought to be in the low hundreds.
Meanwhile, two UK aid workers managed to leave Gaza through the crossing on Wednesday.
They were among some 335 foreign nationals who able to cross after a Qatar and US-brokered deal was struck between Israel, Egypt and Hamas.
Following the latest opening which allowed British nationals to leave, the Foreign Office said it will “work closely” with Egyptian and Israeli authorities to “ensure the crossing stays open so all British nationals can get to safety in the coming days”.
A Palestinian woman, who holds an Egyptian passport, sits with her child as they wait to leave Gaza through the crossing
The Foreign Office has provided the Israeli and Egyptian authorities with a list of British nationals and their dependants, prioritised by medical vulnerability.
Border Force officials deployed in Egypt to help UK nationals have been bolstered by the arrival of a rapid deployment team from the Foreign Office and psychosocial support experts from the British Red Cross.
On Wednesday, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak used a call with Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi to thank him for his efforts in helping the first British nationals to leave through the Rafah border.
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It comes as 76 wounded people from Gaza were allowed to leave via the crossing on Wednesday. They have since arrived at a hospital in Egypt.
The diplomatic efforts are taking place as Israeli forces continue to advance through the Palestinian territory.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the country’s troops had pushed through the outskirts of Gaza City.
Palestinians with dual citizenship gather outside the Rafah border crossing with Egypt earlier in the conflict
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Why is the Rafah crossing so important?
Gaza’s health ministry has said the number of people killed by Israel in the territory since the conflict began has risen to 9,061, up from 8,796 on Wednesday.
Among the dead were 3,760 children and 2,326 women, the ministry added.
Official Israeli sources said on Wednesday that 1,400 people have been killed in Israel since the conflict broke out.
More than 200 hostages taken from Israel are being held by Hamas in Gaza as the conflict approaches its fourth week.
“Super high-IQ revolutionaries” who are willing to work 80+ hours a week are being urged to join Elon Musk’s new cost-cutting department in Donald Trump’s incoming US government.
The X and Tesla owner will co-lead the Department Of Government Efficiency (DOGE) with former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy.
And in a post on X, the official DOGE account put out a call to arms for people to sign up and help “dismantle government bureaucracy”.
The post said: “We are very grateful to the thousands of Americans who have expressed interest in helping us at DOGE.
“We don’t need more part-time idea generators.
“We need super high-IQ small-government revolutionaries willing to work 80+ hours per week on unglamorous cost-cutting.
“If that’s you, DM this account with your CV. Elon & Vivek will review the top 1% of applicants.”
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Elon Musk speaking at an event held at Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate. Pic: AP Photo/Alex Brandon
In a reply to an interested party, Mr Musk suggested the lucky applicants would be working for free.
“Indeed, this will be tedious work, make lost of enemies & compensation is zero,” the world’s richest man wrote.
“What a great deal!”
When announcing the new department, President-elect Donald Trump said Mr Musk and Mr Ramaswamy “will pave the way for my administration to dismantle government bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure federal agencies”.
Mr Musk has previously made clear his desire to see cuts to “government waste” and in a post on his X platform suggested he could axe as many as three-quarters of the more than 400 federal departments in the US, writing: “99 is enough.”
At least 10 people have been killed after a fire broke out at a retirement home in northern Spain in the early hours of this morning, officials have said.
A further two people were seriously injured in the blaze at the residence in the town of Villafranca de Ebro in Zaragoza, according to the Spanish news website Diario Sur.
Two people remain in a critical condition following the blaze. Pic: AP
They remain in a critical condition, while several others received treatment for smoke inhalation.
Firefighters were alerted to the blaze at the residence – the Jardines de Villafranca – at 5am (4am UK time) on Friday.
Several residents were treated for smoke inhalation. Pic: AP
Those who were killed in the fire died from smoke inhalation, Spanish newspaper Heraldo reported.
The residence is home to 82 elderly residents.
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The blaze started in one of the rooms, Fernando Beltran, the national government’s top official in the region, told reporters.
All of the victims were elderly residents, he added.
Relatives wait for news outside the care home. Pic: AP
Fire crews, paramedics and police officers remain on site, said a spokesperson for the regional government of Aragon who confirmed the fatalities.
It took firefighters several hours to extinguish the blaze, they said.
The cause of the fire is unknown and is being investigated.
At least 10 people have been killed after a fire broke out at a retirement home in northern Spain in the early hours of this morning, officials have said.
A further two people were seriously injured in the blaze at the residence in the town of Villafranca de Ebro in Zaragoza, according to the Spanish news website Diario Sur.
Two people remain in a critical condition following the blaze. Pic: AP
They remain in a critical condition, while several others received treatment for smoke inhalation.
Firefighters were alerted to the blaze at the residence – the Jardines de Villafranca – at 5am (4am UK time) on Friday.
Several residents were treated for smoke inhalation. Pic: AP
Those who were killed in the fire died from smoke inhalation, Spanish newspaper Heraldo reported.
The residence is home to 82 elderly residents.
Read more from Sky News:
Mass displacement in Gaza – people unsure where to go
Donald Trump picks vaccine sceptic as health secretary
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
The blaze started in one of the rooms, Fernando Beltran, the national government’s top official in the region, told reporters.
All of the victims were elderly residents, he added.
Relatives wait for news outside the care home. Pic: AP
Fire crews, paramedics and police officers remain on site, said a spokesperson for the regional government of Aragon who confirmed the fatalities.
It took firefighters several hours to extinguish the blaze, they said.
The cause of the fire is unknown and is being investigated.
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