the French hospital ship Dixmude has completed its mission

The French hospital ship Dixmude has completed its mission, the Ministry of the Armed Forces told franceinfo on Friday January 26. The helicopter carrier, moored in the Egyptian port of Al-Arish, around fifty kilometers from Palestinian territory, had been mobilized since the end of November to treat injured civilians from Gaza. The Dixmude must leave the port “by the end of the week”assures the ministry.

Around 120 seriously injured people were ultimately treated on this ship which docked in Egypt on November 27. “Around 1,000 medical procedures were carried out” on board the ship Dixmude, the ministry said. In an interview given to Radio France on January 22, the Minister of the Armed Forces Sébastien Lecornu declared that “Now the question of the next day arises” for the helicopter carrier transformed into a hospital. According to him, “there is no question of abandoning this status of health framework nation to allow the treatment of civilians.” The minister had expressed Emmanuel Macron’s desire to offer Egypt “a hospitable offer, always with military assistance (…) not at the dock on a boat, but on land”.

On the 112th day of war, the humanitarian situation continues to worsen in the besieged Palestinian enclave. On Thursday, Hamas announced a new toll of 25,900 people killed in the Gaza Strip, the majority women, children and adolescents.