Supported by the World Health Organization (WHO) in partnership with the Government of the UAE and other partners including the emergency medical teams Cadus and International Medical Corps, MSF Belgium and PRCS, 85 sick and severely injured patients (35 children and 50 adults) were evacuated from Gaza to Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE), for specialized care.
This extremely complex joint evacuation was the largest medical evacuation outside Gaza since October 2023.
The patients were transferred from Gaza via Kerem Shalom to Ramon Airport in Israel.
WHO press note says that 53 patients have cancer, including four children, 20 have trauma injuries, three have blood diseases, including thalassemia, three have congenital conditions, two have fanconi anaemia, one has a neurological condition, one has cardiac disease, one has liver disease, and one has renal failure.
Sixty-three family members and caregivers accompanied the patients.
“We are thankful to the UAE for supporting the evacuation of these patients to receive the urgent care they need,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General.
Since October 2023, around 5 000 people have been evacuated for treatment outside Gaza, with over 80% receiving care in Egypt, Qatar and the UAE.
Over 10 000 more people in Gaza still need medical evacuation. Today’s evacuation follows previous ones to Spain and Belgium from Cairo, coordinated by WHO. Twenty patients have been evacuated to these countries in the past few days.
The WHO continues to call on the international community to intensify efforts to ensure safe, sustained, timely, and organized medical evacuations, it said.
