Children evacuated from Gaza orphanage to the West Bank

Nearly 70 children were evacuated from an orphanage in the southern Gaza town of Rafah and taken to the Israeli-occupied West Bank, a charity involved in the effort said on Tuesday.

The charity, SOS Children’s Villages International, said it had worked “through diplomatic channels with all relevant authorities” to move the children, who were orphaned before the current war, to the orphanage in the West Bank city of Bethlehem.

The German embassy in Israel said it had helped in this regard following a request for help in mid-November from SOS Children’s Villages. The embassy said the evacuation of the orphans was a temporary measure to remove the children “from immediate danger,” and not an attempt to permanently relocate them.

There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military or government about the operation said the United Nations took place with the approval of the Israeli authorities. The German embassy thanked Israel for “an important humanitarian gesture.”

More than a million Gazans have sought refuge in Rafah, many of them previously displaced several times by Israeli military orders to move south for safety. Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed for weeks to press ahead with plans for a ground offensive in Rafah, prompting warnings from the United States and other allies, along with many aid groups, about the potential cost in civilian lives.

The 68 children were accompanied by 11 SOS Children’s Villages staff and arrived in Bethlehem on Monday, the charity said.

“Even though the children are now relatively safe, we are still deeply concerned about all the other children and people who remain in grave danger in the Gaza Strip,” the organization said in a statement, noting that there are still children arrived at the orphanage. in Rafa.

More than 30,000 people, including thousands of children, have been killed in Gaza since the Israeli attack on the enclave began, according to Gaza health authorities. It’s early February UNICEF It was estimated that approximately 17,000 children in the enclave were unaccompanied or separated from their families.

Aaron Bokserman reporting contributed.