Algerian president vows to build 3 field hospitals in Gaza when Rafah crossing reopens

Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune vows that the Algerian army will build three field hospitals in the Gaza Strip within 20 days when the Rafah Border Crossing reopens.

“The army is ready as soon as the borders are open,” he says during a rally in the northeastern city of Constantine. He adds that Algeria is ready to send “hundreds of doctors to Gaza… and help rebuild what the occupation destroyed,” according to reports in Arab media.

Tebboune, 78, is running for a second term in the presidential election scheduled to take place on September 7. He has been in power since 2019 after street protests caused the previous octogenarian president Abdelaziz Bouteflika to resign.

A staunch supporter of the Palestinian cause and a rotating member of the United Nations Security Council since June 2023, Algeria has repeatedly denounced Israel’s actions throughout the Israel-Hamas war and it maintains friendly ties with Russia, China, and Turkey. CNN Arabic notes that Tebboune’s proposal to send the Algerian army through Egypt into Gaza has been perceived by some in Egypt as a provocation.

Algerian media outlets report that Tebboune also pledged yesterday to begin supplying Lebanon with oil, after the last major operating power plant was forced to close down on Saturday due to a lack of fuel, resulting in a total power outage across the country.