Jordan working to evacuate nationals from Gaza

AMMAN, Jordan

Jordan said Monday that it was working to evacuate 69 Jordanian nationals stranded in the Gaza Strip, where Israeli attacks have been taking place for over a month.

In a statement, the Foreign Ministry said an evacuation process was underway for 69 Jordanians in Gaza through the efforts of the Jordanian Embassy in Cairo.

It added that a team from the embassy would be receiving the country's nationals on the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing with the besieged Palestinian enclave to provide them with medical assistance before repatriating them to Jordan.

The ministry said the list of Jordanians requesting evacuation from Gaza had reached 640.

Since early November, the Jordanian Foreign Ministry said it had evacuated 209 nationals from Gaza.

As the Israeli assault on the Gaza Strip entered its 38th day, at least 11,180 Palestinians have been killed, including over 7,700 children and women, and more than 28,200 others have been injured, according to the latest figures by Palestinian authorities.

Thousands of buildings, including hospitals, mosques and churches, have also been damaged or destroyed in Israel's relentless air and ground attacks on the besieged enclave since last month.

The Israeli death toll, meanwhile, is nearly 1,200, according to official figures.

* Writing by Ahmed Asmar