WHO says more than 12,000 people need medical evacuation from Gaza

The World Health Organisation (WHO) said on Wednesday that more than 12,000 people in Gaza need medical evacuations, Anadolu Agency has reported.

WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus insisted that the approval rate for medical evacuations has to be increased. “We need to expedite the process of approvals for medical evacuations; allow all possible corridors and border crossings to be used for safe medical evacuations,” he said on social media.

The official pointed out that the agency and its partners have this week evacuated ten patients from Gaza to Jordan and the US to received specialised health care.

Earlier on Wednesday, the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) said that Gaza hospitals have become “death traps” due to the ongoing Israeli bombardment. UNRWA added on social media that, “Families are disintegrating and children are dying of cold in Gaza due to the Israeli occupation aggression. Hunger is claiming the lives of people in the Strip, as the food crisis has worsened due to restrictions imposed by the occupation forces on the entry of humanitarian aid.”

According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza, only 14 out of 36 hospitals in Gaza are now operational, yet still only provide partial services due to extreme shortages of medicines and medical supplies.

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