WHO leads medical evacuation of 41 critical patients out of Gaza

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(Reuters) -The World Health Organization led the medical evacuation of 41 critical patients and 145 companions out of Gaza, Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Wednesday. Around 15,000 Gaza patients are awaiting evacuation, Tedros said in an X post.

“We continue to call on countries to show their solidarity and for all routes to be opened to expedite the medical evacuation,” the WHO chief said.

Many suffer from injuries sustained during the two-year-long Israel-Hamas conflict. Others have chronic conditions such as cancer and heart disease that the enclave’s decimated health system cannot cope with. During the war, more than 7,000 patients have been evacuated from Gaza, with Egypt taking more than half of them. The rate of transfers slowed to a trickle when the Rafah border crossing was shut in May 2024 and Israel seized control. Since a previous ceasefire collapsed in March, fewer than four patients have exited daily. Some 15,600 Gazan patients await evacuation, including 3,800 children, the WHO previously said. The Rafah crossing previously used for patients to exit via Egypt remains closed for transfers. Hundreds have died waiting, medical groups and Palestinian health authorities say. The WHO, which took over management of the process last year, said 740 people including 137 children on the list have died since July 2024. COGAT, the arm of the Israeli military that oversees aid flows into Gaza, has previously said that approvals are subject to security checks.

(Reporting by Chandni Shah in Bengaluru and Olivia Le Poidevin and Emma Farge in Geneva; Editing by Bill Berkrot)