WHO and United Arab Emirates evacuate 85 patients from Gaza

30 July 2024

Jerusalem, Cairo, Geneva - Today, 85 sick and severely injured patients from Gaza were evacuated to Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE), for specialized care. This extremely complex joint evacuation was supported by the the World Health Organization (WHO) in partnership with the Government of the UAE and other partners. This is the largest medical evacuation outside Gaza since October 2023.

"I am immensely grateful to the United Arab Emirates for evacuating sick and severely injured patients from Gaza and providing them with lifesaving medical care," said Dr Hanan Balkhy, WHO Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean. "This initiative is a clear demonstration of the intra-regional solidarity that is urgently needed. Support to people in the Region must start from the Region. Thousands more inside Gaza remain at risk without access to advanced medical care. I urge Member States who are able to receive and care for more patients to do so."

The patients include 35 children and 50 adults, who were transferred from Gaza via Kerem Shalom to Ramon Airport in Israel, with support from WHO. Fifty-three patients have cancer, including 4 children, 20 have trauma injuries, 3 have blood diseases, including thalassemia, 3 have congenital conditions, 2 have fanconi anaemia, 1 has a neurological condition, 1 has cardiac disease, 1 has liver disease, and 1 has renal failure. Sixty-three family members and care givers accompanied the patients.

"We are thankful to the UAE for supporting the evacuation of these patients to receive the urgent care they need," said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. "We hope this paves the way for the establishment of evacuation corridors via all possible routes, including the Kerem Shalom and Rafah crossings to Egypt and Jordan, and from there to other countries. We also call for evacuations to the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, to be restored. Thousands of sick people are suffering needlessly. Above all, and as always, we call for a ceasefire."

The evacuation, originally scheduled for 29 July, was postponed, adding significant challenges to the operation, and diverting scarce resources.

Despite damaged roads, insecurity, and risks to their own safety, the WHO team organized and managed the transfer of patients from various areas in Gaza to the Kerem Shalom crossing under extremely challenging conditions.

Prior to the evacuation, 9 patients were transferred by WHO and partners on July 27 from northern Gaza to the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) field hospital in Deir al-Balah for stabilization and further movement. Other patients were picked up from five locations in Deir al-Balah and Khan Younis. Some critically injured patients, who had already been relocated to the final departure point in the south, were accommodated and cared for at the Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) field hospital in Deir al-Balah, in coordination with WHO, following the postponement of the mission. WHO and the International Medical Corps team provided medical supplies, electricity, safe water and sanitation facilities at the hospital as it is still being set up.

During the evacuation, patients underwent back-to-back transfer at Kerem Shalom, where they boarded buses, organized by WHO, heading to the airport after security checks. WHO provided wheelchairs to ensure patients could safely switch buses at the crossing, arranged access to food, water and medical professionals during the entire journey within Gaza and en route to the airport, and supported patient documentation.

Other partners supporting the evacuation included the emergency medical teams Cadus and International Medical Corps, MSF Belgium and PRCS.

Since October 2023, around 5000 people have been evacuated for treatment outside Gaza, with over 80% receiving care in Egypt, Qatar and the UAE. Over 10 000 more people in Gaza still need medical evacuation. Today's evacuation follows previous ones to Spain and Belgium from Cairo, coordinated by WHO. Twenty patients have been evacuated to these countries in the past few days.

The WHO continues to call on the international community to intensify efforts to ensure safe, sustained, timely, and organized medical evacuations.

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