Geneva (UNA/WAFA) – Doctors Without Borders has appealed to countries to open their doors to tens of thousands of Gaza residents in dire need of medical evacuation, warning that hundreds have lost their lives while waiting for treatment.
Hani Islim, the organization’s medical evacuation coordinator, said in a press interview Tuesday evening that the numbers received by countries so far “are just a drop in the ocean,” noting that the real number of people in need of medical evacuation is between three and four times the two patients registered.
The World Health Organization estimates that more than 8,000 patients have been evacuated since the outbreak of war on October 7, 2023, while more than 16,500 patients still need treatment outside the sector, including children suffering from serious illnesses such as cancer and congenital heart disease.
Islim noted the slowdown in the pace of evacuations since the closure of the Rafah crossing to Egypt in May 2024, with the average number of patients leaving monthly dropping from 1500 to about 70 patients.
He added that the long and politicized process of admitting patients from countries, along with most countries' focus on children and neglect of adults, increases the suffering of thousands of patients in need of urgent treatment.
Islim called on governments to “stop treating medical evacuations as a shopping list” and focus on real needs and saving human lives, stressing that the slowdown in the pace of evacuations threatens the lives of many and increases the number of deaths while waiting for treatment.
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