Hundreds flee from one of the last functioning hospitals in Gaza, fearing an Israeli attack

“We call on everyone, especially the Hamas movement, to quickly finalize the deal so that we can protect our people and remove all obstacles,” Mr Abbas said. a statement This was reported by Wafa, the authority's official news agency. Mr Abbas heads Fatah, a political party that is a rival to Hamas.

With food, water and medicine in desperate short supply in Gaza, the Biden administration called on Israel on Wednesday to stop blocking flour shipments to UNRWA, the main UN aid agency for Palestinians in Gaza.

Israel's far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said on Tuesday he had issued a directive not to transfer flour to UNRWA, citing allegations that some of its employees had ties to Hamas, including 12 accused of a role in the attack of October 7. and its aftermath.

About 1,050 containers, most of them filled with flour, were stopped at Israel's port of Ashdod, Philippe Lazzarini, head of UNRWA, told reporters on Friday. That would be enough to feed 1.1 million Gazans for a month, he said.

On Wednesday, President Biden's national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, said at a news conference: “That flour has not been moved as we expected. We expect Israel to fulfill its promise to get that flour to Gaza.”

At Nasser Hospital, some medical workers were packing their belongings and preparing their families for the flight.

“We are all scared,” said Dr. Mohammad Abu Moussa, a radiologist.

But Dr. Moussa said that although he was concerned about an attack on the hospital, he and his wife decided to stay put for now. They and their two surviving children – a third was killed in an airstrike in October – have been hospitalized for weeks.

“I have no other choice,” said Dr. Abu Moussa. “I can't go anywhere in Rafah, and I have young children, and they can't walk such long distances.”