17 American doctors evacuated from Gaza: White House

ANKARA

The White House said Friday that 17 US doctors who were stuck in the war-torn Gaza Strip were evacuated through the Kerem Shalom crossing with Israel.

US National Security spokesman John Kirby told reporters that "out of 20 American doctors, 17 are out now, they came out today."

The doctors and medical workers were part of a medical mission at the European Hospital near Khan Younis in southern Gaza but found themselves trapped after the Israeli army raided Rafah on May 6, under which the army seized control of the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing.

Since then, the Rafah crossing has been closed, isolating Palestinians in Gaza from contact with the outside world.

The Israeli army launched a ground offensive on May 6 in Rafah, home to 1.5 million displaced Palestinians, with the UN Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) estimating more that 600,000 people have fled the city since the start of the Israeli attack.

Israel continued its brutal offensive on Gaza despite a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire in the enclave.

More than 35,300 Palestinians have since been killed, the vast majority being women and children, and over 79,200 others injured since early October following an attack by the Palestinian resistance group, Hamas.

More than seven months into the Israeli war, vast swathes of Gaza lay in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine.

Israel is accused of “genocide” at the International Court of Justice, which has ordered Tel Aviv to ensure its forces do not commit acts of genocide and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.