French helicopter carrier Dixmude docked in Egypt on Monday to help treat the wounded Palestinian children in Gaza.
The French Defence Minister Sebastien Lecornu said on Tuesday that this is the first Western military ship to dock in Egypt since the beginning of the attacks
The ship moored at Egypt’s al-Arish 50 km west of Gaza. The Egyptian city is now a hub for international aid to be sent to Gaza.
The ship’s arrival comes during the ongoing truce in Gaza in which Palestinian hostages are being exchanged for Israelis held in Gaza.
“We have this ship, which has been transformed into a hospital and which arrived yesterday. It has 40 beds,” Lecornu told Europe 1 radio.
The carrier holds two operating theaters and 40 beds, to treat people with light injuries before they are moved to hospitals on the ground.
Around 22 civilian doctors, including 16 surgeons and six pediatricians, are on board the carrier, according to French officials.
Once treated on the Dixmude, the children will then be moved to hospitals in Egypt or Gaza to make room for other patients.
Paris also made available 50 beds in France, if needed, for seriously wounded and sick children in Gaza, including cancer patients.
