CAIRO -- Fifty patients from the Gaza Strip entered Egypt on Saturday through the Rafah crossing, the only link between the Palestinian enclave and Egypt, Egypt's state-run Nile TV reported.

They are the first group of Gazan patients entering Egypt via the crossing for medical treatment since last May.

TV footage showed the patients entering the Egyptian side of the crossing one by one and boarding ambulances waiting at the border.

An Egyptian Red Crescent source told Xinhua earlier on Saturday that 30 well-equipped ambulances were stationed at the Egyptian side of the crossing to transport the patients to hospitals in the cities of Sheikh Zuweid, Arish, and Suez. Some patients will be sent to the Egyptian capital Cairo after their condition is assessed.

The patients will be assigned to departments of orthopedics, burns, general surgery, and pediatrics in designated hospitals for treatment, the source added.

The Rafah crossing between Egypt and Gaza has been a key gateway for delivering relief supplies donated by Egypt, other countries, and international organizations.

On Jan 19, the Rafah crossing was reopened from the Egyptian side as part of a ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel. Since May 2024, the Palestinian side of the crossing has been controlled by Israel, which had blocked its operation until the recent ceasefire agreement.