JORDAN SENDS HOSPITAL, MORE AID TO GAZA AND

C O N F I D E N T I A L AMMAN 000235 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/26/2019 TAGS: PREL PHUM KPAL JO SUBJECT: JORDAN SENDS HOSPITAL, MORE AID TO GAZA AND RETURNS AMBASSADOR Classified By: Ambassador R. Stephen Beecroft for reasons 1.4 (b) and ( d). ¶1. (U) The Jordanian Armed Forces (JAF) deployed a military field hospital to Gaza on January 26. The field hospital will be staffed by 180 medics, including specialists and surgeons. Royal Medical Services Director General Abdul Latif Wreikat publicly stated that the field hospital will have the same capability as the King Hussein Medical Center in Amman. The field hospital will be established in the Tal Al Hawa area of Gaza and was projected to be operational on January 27. It will have 44 beds, of which four will be set aside for intensive care, and two ambulances. ¶2. (C) Royal Court Chief Nasser Lozi told Ambassador that the King wanted to bring more Gazans to Jordan for medical treatment but was discouraged from doing so by the Government of Egypt. (Note: Lozi did not specify the Egyptian regime's rationale. End Note.) Eight injured Palestinians were brought to Amman on January 1 and are being treated at the Queen Alia Military Hospital, according to a hospital contact. The contact stated that the deployment of the field hospital in Gaza made it unlikely that additional patients would be brought to Jordan. ¶3. (U) Other aid from Jordan to Gaza continues. Jordan's Ambassador to Israel Ali Ayed returned to Tel Aviv on January 25 and is helping coordinate the flow of aid. The Israeli Political Counselor confirmed on January 27 that Ayed had been in contact with the Israeli MFA today. On January 26, the Jordan Hashemite Charity Organization (JHCO) sent a 20-truck convoy carrying 227 tons of food and supplies to Gaza. Visit Amman's Classified Web Site at http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/amman Beecroft