The World Health Organization (WHO) has revealed that more than 900 Palestinian patients in the Gaza Strip died due to delays in medical evacuations caused by the Israeli regime.
More than 900 patients died while waiting for medical evacuations restricted by the Israeli regime’s imposed limitations on issuing travel permits for treatment outside of Gaza, the WHO said on Sunday.
The WHO explained that approximately 16,500 patients are still awaiting approval for evacuation, including 4,000 children in urgent need of life-saving medical transfers.
The international organization warned that any further delays by the Israeli regime in dealing with critical cases in Gaza would be a death sentence for the patients denied evacuation.
The WHO also noted that hospitals in Gaza are operating at less than half of their capacity due to shortages of fuel, medicines, and essential supplies.
Since May 2024, the WHO has carried out 119 evacuation missions, successfully transferring 8,000 patients for treatment outside Gaza, including 5,500 children.
However, thousands of patients remain in dire conditions, facing an uncertain future amid the collapse of the healthcare system.
The WHO warned that nearly 4,000 children in Gaza still await evacuation for urgent medical treatment.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the organization is working inside Gaza to rebuild shattered health services and move critically wounded patients out of the territory one month after the ceasefire was agreed.
In a post on X, the head of WHO expressed gratitude to the 30 countries that have so far accepted patients and called on others to join, saying “more than 16,500 patients, including almost 4,000 children, are awaiting evacuation to receive urgent care outside of Gaza.”
He also called for all evacuation routes for Palestinians to be opened by the Israeli regime.
Meanwhile, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) said the Israeli regime is deliberately disrupting its relief operations by blocking the entry of vital aid to Gaza amid its more than two-year genocidal war.
UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini told the UN General Assembly Fourth Committee on Thursday that the regime was crippling humanitarian operations as Palestinians face the onset of heavy rains and winter with sparse shelter or relief.
Lazzarini said that despite the ceasefire mandating the passage of humanitarian aid, only a fraction of what was needed by the Palestinian people has been allowed to get through by the Israeli regime forces.
Also, Lazzarini asked donor nations to provide more money so that the agency could continue its operations in Gaza, warning that severe funding shortfalls due to the cuts by the United States were threatening UNRWA’s services vital to the Palestinians.
[ SOURCE: AL JAZEERA ]
