Jordan said on Tuesday, November 21, 2023, that Israel ordered the evacuation of a Jordanian field hospital in Gaza, but added that it would not comply with the request. Prime Minister Bisher Al-Khasawneh said in statements reported by official media that the Jordanian army is reinforcing its presence along the border in light of developments in Gaza.

Also, Jordanian Prime Minister Bisher Al-Khasawneh said that the deployment of the Kingdom's army on the border (with Palestine) is a natural and fundamental act for "multiple considerations". Al-Khasawneh's remarks came in response to recent social media users circulating video clips showing Jordanian military reinforcements heading toward the Kingdom's border with Palestine.

Jordan’s Prime Minister Announces Rejection of Israeli Request

Al-Khasawneh commented on these clips in an interview with the Saudi channel "Al Arabiya" on Monday, and the Prime Minister's Office published the details on social media platforms on Tuesday.

He said: "We treat the aggression on Gaza as if it is on our borders and not in another part of the planet. You are talking about a reality, a tragedy, an aggression, a clash, and a war less than 60 kilometers away by air."

For 46 days, the Israeli army has been waging a devastating war on Gaza, leaving more than 13,300 Palestinian dead, including more than 5,600 children and 3,550 women, in addition to more than 31,000 injured, 75% of whom are children and women, according to the Gaza government media office.

Meanwhile, Hamas has killed 1,200 Israelis and injured 5,431, according to official Israeli sources. It has also captured about 239 Israelis, including high-ranking military personnel, whom it seeks to exchange for more than 7,000 Palestinian prisoners, including children and women, in Israeli prisons.

Al-Khasawneh continued that "it is natural for the army to spread and extend along this border for multiple reasons, to stand against any infiltration attempts that might endanger our citizens, and to counter any attempts that might occur to extremists on the other side to come toward us."

Regarding the attack on the Jordanian military field hospital in Gaza, Al-Khasawneh said: "We received signals from Israel to evacuate the field hospital in Gaza, and we did not respond to these demands from the first week (of the war)." He added that "the Jordanian Armed Forces are conducting an investigation and we will deal with the matter according to the results of the investigation."

Injured Jordanians in Gaza

On November 15, 2023, the Jordanian army announced the injury of 7 of its staff working in the field hospital in Gaza, established 14 years ago, during their attempt to aid Palestinians injured in an Israeli bombing.

Al-Khasawneh reiterated that the displacement of Palestinians "would be considered a material breach of the Jordanian-Israeli peace treaty agreement (since 1994), and for Jordan, displacement means a declaration of war against it."

He added that "the peace treaty is considered papers on a shelf covered by dust if Israel does not respect the treaty’s entitlements," stressing that "all options are on the table."

It is worth noting that health officials in the Gaza Strip had previously announced the arrival of the first Jordanian field hospital with a medical team since Israel began its aggression on the strip on October 7, 2023, via the Rafah crossing at the border with Egypt.

According to the Jordanian news agency (Petra), the Jordanian Crown Prince Hussein bin Abdullah arrived today in the Egyptian city of Arish to supervise the preparation and dispatch of the "Special Field Hospital / 2" to the southern Gaza Strip.

The director of hospitals in Gaza, Mohammed Zaqout, confirmed that the new Jordanian field hospital will be established "near Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis in the southern Strip to receive the wounded and injured."

Meanwhile, the Jordanian Royal Court clarified that the hospital will have a capacity of 41 beds and consists of emergency, general internal medicine, intensive care, male, female, premature newborn departments with 41 incubators, maternity, in addition to a laboratory, pharmacy, radiology, sterilization room, and two operating rooms to perform urgent surgeries.

The hospital includes a medical, nursing, and administrative team consisting of 145 people specializing in "general surgery, vascular surgery, neurology, thoracic surgery, urology, plastic surgery, orthopedics, pediatrics, and maxillofacial surgery."

Earlier, 40 trucks arrived at the Rafah crossing carrying medical equipment, devices, and supplies to equip the hospital, accompanied by a team of 17 medical and technical personnel.

It is noted that the first Jordanian military field hospital in Gaza was established in 2009, is affiliated with the Jordanian army, and receives between 1,000 to 1,200 visitors daily. It is managed by medical, technical, and administrative teams that are replaced every three months by a new team, and the hospital is supplied with medical and therapeutic supplies at the beginning of each mission to sustain its work as it provides its services free of charge.