GAZA, (The Palestine Foundation Pakistan)The World Health Organization (WHO) has carried out an emergency medical evacuation of 41 critically ill patients from Gaza, along with 145 companions, to receive treatment outside the besieged enclave, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus announced on Thursday.
In a statement posted on X, Ghebreyesus said around 15,000 other patients in Gaza are still waiting for evacuation, stressing that the organization continues to urge nations to show solidarity and open all possible routes to expedite medical transfers.
Many of those evacuated suffer from severe war-related injuries caused by Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza, while others are battling chronic illnesses such as cancer and heart disease, conditions that Gaza’s devastated healthcare system can no longer treat adequately.
Since the beginning of the genocide, more than 7,000 patients have been evacuated from Gaza, with Egypt receiving more than half of them. These transfers have been vital to easing pressure on the enclave’s overstretched hospitals.
However, evacuation rates have plummeted sharply since the Rafah border crossing was seized by the Israeli occupation forces (IOF) in May 2024. Following the collapse of an earlier ceasefire in March, fewer than four patients are allowed to leave Gaza each day.
The WHO previously reported that approximately 15,600 patients, including 3,800 children, remain on the waiting list for medical evacuation. With Rafah crossing still closed, Gaza’s most vulnerable patients are trapped inside the war zone without access to life-saving care.
According to WHO data, since July 2024, more than 740 people, among them 137 children, who were approved for treatment abroad have died due to Israel’s closure of border crossings.
