Amman, May 22 (Petra)– Minister of Government Communication and Government Spokesperson, Mohmmad Momani, said that stressed that Jordan is prepared to send aid to the Gaza Strip; but, Israeli limitations are preventing it from getting into the war-torn enclave.

“Jordan is ready to send urgent relief aid to Gaza, with approximately 100 trucks awaiting approval to enter,” Momani said in an interview, on Thursday, with the Jordan Times Newspaper. However, this help has not been able to reach the Strip due to Israeli limitations.

He continued by saying that since the start of the conflict, Jordan has led the way in sending humanitarian aid to Gaza through all available channels, such as airdrops, land convoys, and airlifts.

Speaking on the situation of the ill Gazan youngsters who were treated in Jordan and then returned to Gaza on May 14. “Jordan announced from the beginning of the medical evacuation process, which began in early March, that patients would return to Gaza immediately after completing their treatment, making it easier for us to host and bring in more cases,” Momani said in response to concerns raised by their families about returning in the midst of the ongoing conflict. For instance, we were able to bring in a fresh set of ill kids the next day, all of whom have cancer, after the 17 kids who had finished their treatment in Jordan returned on May 13.

The 17 ill children that came back with their families were among 29 patients, according to Momani, who also said, “Twelve patients remain in Jordan, where they have not yet completed their treatment.”

The minister clarified that the Kingdom’s policy is centered on bolstering the Palestinians’ determination to remain on their land, emphasizing that it is in no way consistent with any calls to force them to leave.

Momani stressed that the films that have been making news on social media about children going back to Gaza before finishing their treatment are untrue. According to medical reports, every patient who went back to Gaza finished their course of treatment and got the most care possible in the top facilities in Jordan. The best lodgings were also given to their families. After undergoing difficult procedures, a few of these patients are now in excellent health.

Given Jordan’s reputation as an international center in healthcare, he noted that patients receive top-notch treatment at the country’s top private and governmental facilities. For instance, the King Hussein Cancer Center, a premier facility in the area and one that is well-known across the world for its cutting-edge amenities and first-rate care, treats a large number of cancer patients from Gaza.

Momani acknowledged that this was regrettably the case in response to grievances from families returning to Gaza about Israeli authorities seizing their cash, prescription drugs, and personal property. When they returned from Jordan, Israeli officials seized their possessions, cash, cell phones, and even the food they were carrying at the Kerem Abu Salem border crossing on the Gaza border.

The minister clarified that although Jordan wants to expedite the process and host more children from Gaza, Israeli authorities are still putting up barriers.

He underlined that Israeli authorities have never consented to carry out Jordan’s long-standing request to airlift ill youngsters out of Gaza.

Despite the difficulties, Momani said that since March 4, Jordan has carried out three operations in collaboration with the World Health Organization, evacuating 114 persons from Gaza, including 39 patients and 75 family members.

He clarified that on March 29, the first group was dispatched, bringing 29 children into the Kingdom along with 44 family members. On May 14 and 20, the second and third batches were dispatched, bringing with them six children with cancer and 19 family members, as well as four cancer patients and 12 family members.

Momani said that “Jordanian field hospitals in Gaza continue to provide urgent medical care to the wounded and sick, amid the total collapse of the health sector in Gaza as a result of the ongoing war.”

Jordan now runs two military field hospitals in the Gaza Strip, he said. The first is in the northern Gaza Strip and was founded in 2009 after the 2008 war. In the midst of the intensifying Israeli war on the enclave, which started on October 7, 2023, the second hospital, situated in Khan Yunis in the south, opened its doors in November 2023.

Numerous cases have been successfully evacuated to the two hospitals for essential treatment, according to Momani.

//Petra// MF

22/05/2025 22:09:04