The French Navy’s amphibious assault ship Dixmude arrived on November 27 in Egypt’s El-Arish coast, near the border with the Gaza Strip, to serve as a hospital for wounded civilians, a port source said.

Dixmude is said to have two operating theatres and 40 beds.

With most of Gaza’s hospitals unable to function, serious injuries have been entering Egypt in large numbers in recent weeks under special permission, according to the United Nations.