The IDF and the Civil Administration were involved in the past day in an unusual operation to rescue more than 70 Gazan orphans at the request of the German Embassy.
The children, who were accompanied by dozens of Gaza adults, were moved from an orphanage that stopped functioning to a new home in the Palestinian Authority town of Bethlehem, passing through Israeli territory, including the outskirts of Jerusalem, to get there.
The National Security Headquarters in the Prime Minister’s Office approved the unusual humanitarian gesture even though Hamas, which still apparently controls Gaza, remains unwilling to provide Israel with the names and/or number of hostages who are still alive in Gaza captivity.
Large forces of the IDF were mobilized for the purpose of the transfer operation along the road from the Taba crossing to the Jerusalem tunnel road in order to allow the buses of the orphans and their companions to pass safely to the territories of the Palestinian Authority.
Israel’s political-security cabinet was not informed of the operation. A senior official in the cabinet said called the move a “scandal” that constituted “immoral behavior towards the abductees in Gaza and their families.”
The convoy was scheduled to arrive at the tunnel checkpoint at 6 pm Monday evening.
