Finland has declined a request from the European Commission to accept severely wounded and sick patients from Gaza, citing a lack of necessary resources. The decision, reported by Finnish national broadcaster Yle News, comes amidst a growing humanitarian crisis in the besieged, war-torn Palestinian enclave. Israel’s ongoing offensive against the Palestinians in Gaza has already killed 41,500 people, mainly women and children, wounded 96,000 and triggered a famine and major health crisis.
In May, the European Commission called upon member states to offer medical assistance to Gaza under the EU’s Civil Protection Mechanism, following a formal request from the World Health Organisation (WHO). The appeal emphasised the urgent need for swift action to evacuate patients to hospitals outside Gaza for life-saving treatment.
However, the Finnish Ministry of Social Affairs and Health stated that Finland “does not have the necessary resources to respond to the patient evacuation requests.” The ministry added that, given limited resources, Finland has chosen to prioritise assistance to Ukraine regarding patient evacuations.
With Israel destroying 31 out of 36 hospitals in Gaza, the healthcare situation in the besieged enclave is dire, and the WHO has reported that over 9,000 patients require urgent treatment. This includes 109 severely ill and injured children whom the WHO hoped would be treated in EU countries.
Of the 27 EU member states, only seven have agreed to accept patients from Gaza: Spain, Belgium, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, Romania and Slovakia. Norway, although not an EU member, has also committed to taking in 20 patients. The first group of 16 seriously injured children went to Spain in July.
Finland’s decision follows a similar stance taken by Sweden, which has also declined to accept patients. Swedish Health Minister Acko Ankarberg Johansson told Dagens Nyheter newspaper that Sweden would instead donate technical equipment and hospital supplies, arguing that this approach would be more broadly beneficial than individual evacuations.
The decisions by Finland and Sweden have been criticised. In Sweden, both the Karolinska University Hospital and healthcare company Aleris have offered to accept patients from Gaza, having previously treated evacuees from Ukraine.
Under the proposed quota system, Sweden would have been responsible for about 200 of the patients transferred from Gaza to EU member states. The rejection by these Nordic countries raises questions about the EU’s capacity to respond to humanitarian crises beyond its immediate neighbours.
Despite declining to accept patients, Finland pointed out that it is supporting the people of Gaza through contributions to the Palestinian refugee organisation UNRWA, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), and the World Food Programme (WFP).
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