A group of 33 Israeli prisoners of war arrived from Egypt early this morning bringing to 142 the number of Israeli POWs returned. So far Israel has returned 4550 Egyptian POWs. The latest arrivals–the fifth group of POWs since the exchange began–were delayed by the Egyptians for unexplained reasons and arrived several hours later than expected. They were greeted at the airport by Defense Minister Moshe Dayan and his wife, Rachel Dayan. The POWs were then registered, issued fresh clothes and sent home.
Meanwhile, the evacuation of sick and wounded from the town of Suez continued yesterday under Art. 3 of the Israeli-Egyptian cease-fire agreement. The agreement covers all hospitalized persons in the town, and while some are civilians; many are young men of military age and presumably soldiers. All of the evacuees are garbed in the traditional Egyptian white galabaya, a long gown which makes it impossible to differentiate soldiers from civilians
The evacuation is being carried out under Red Cross auspices in the presence of Israeli army physicians and UN observers. According to the agreement, the town receives daily supplies of fresh vegetables and other food.
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