Israeli authorities have said 68 poorly and injured children and their companions have been allowed out of the Gaza Strip and into Egypt in the first medical evacuation since May, when the territory’s sole travel crossing was shut down.

COGAT, the Israeli military body responsible for Palestinian civilian affairs, said on Thursday that the evacuation was carried out in co-ordination with officials from the United States, Egypt and the international community.

The children and their companions left the Gaza Strip via the Kerem Shalom crossing, and the patients were to travel to Egypt and further abroad for medical treatment.

The nearly nine-month Israel-Hamas war has devastated Gaza’s health sector and forced most of its hospitals to shut down.

Health officials say thousands of people need medical treatment abroad, including hundreds of urgent cases.