Minister of Health Uriel Busso on Friday instructed Health Ministry Director Moshe Bar Siman-Tov to rescind the directive sent to the public hospitals for receiving, caring, and hospitalizing Gazans and Lebanese who were evacuated to the IDF from the battle zones to Israel.
Minister Busso noted that no change has been made in his clear policy to not allow terrorists or civilians from Gaza and Lebanon to be received in hospitals in Israel and emphasized that the letter sent on Thursday was written without his knowledge, without his authorization, and without holding an organized discussion with him together with security officials and ministry staff.
Busso instructed the director to immediately notify the defense establishment that the directive was instantly nullified and to clarify to all officials that any request to change policy would be considered only after a professional and serious discussion in the minister's office with the expert and defense officials and pending his approval.
Earlier in the week, directors of Israel's public hospitals received a directive from the Ministry of Health to accept residents of the Gaza Strip and Lebanon who were wounded during the war.
The Health Ministry emphasized that "these wounded individuals were evacuated for humanitarian reasons and in accordance with diplomatic and military considerations, given the state's commitment to international laws and charters.
The letter explains that the evacuations would be carried out by the IDF as per the decision of the operational commander and a medical official on the battlefield.
It was explained to the directors how to evacuate and return the patient to Gaza after the treatment, "The process of evacuation is complex and entails a safe route, assistance from the Red Cross, available evacuation equipment, and an open passage from the Gaza Strip. The issue influences the evacuation time from the Gaza Strip to the hospital and from the hospital back to Gaza. It should be emphasized that the crossing is not open daily at this time and requires the patient to have full movement capabilities since they have to walk 1.5 kilometers, there is no vehicular transport from the crossing into the Gaza Strip."