WHO: There is an urgent need to evacuate 9,000 sick and wounded from the Gaza Strip

Published at: 30/03/2024 08:56 PM

The Secretary General of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Gebreyesus, this Saturday, March 30, reported that “around 9,000 patients (Gazans) urgently need to be evacuated abroad to receive vital health services, including treatments for cancer, bombing injuries, kidney dialysis and other chronic diseases”, referring to the serious health situation in the Gaza Strip.

With only 10 minimally functional hospitals throughout the Palestinian enclave, thousands of patients do not have access to medical care, he highlighted in his account on the social network X.

In addition, he indicated that more than 3,400 patients have been transferred abroad through the Rafa border crossings, including 2,198 injured and 1,215 sick.

Gebreyesus urged Israel to accelerate the authorization of evacuations “so that critical patients can receive treatment”, because in the condition in which Gazans find themselves, “every moment matters”.

Two weeks ago, the Secretary General of the WHO made another appeal to the Israeli authorities “in the name of humanity”, so that they do not go ahead with their plan to invade Rafa due to the risk of “many more deaths and suffering”.

In another message, Adhanom Gebreyesus, providing an update on the situation, stressed that “the Al-Shifa hospital in # Gaza: @WHO and its partners had to postpone a very complex joint mission due to delays. Three previous missions were denied. The hospital has been under siege since March 18.”

He specified that according to reports, 100 patients and 50 health workers are still inside the center that does not work, with hostilities surrounding them. We are extremely concerned about their condition and safety.

“The repeated refusals have not only prevented us from reaching patients, but they have also interrupted other crucial lifesaving operations, by diverting limited resources,” he said.

The official reiterated the call to Israel “to provide a safe humanitarian corridor and a better conflict resolution system for WHO and its partners to support patient transfers.”

“International humanitarian law is clear: health should not be militarized or attacked. Ceasefire!” , he ruled.