More than 14.800 patients in Gaza still urgently need specialized medical assistance, warned the Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), calling on the international community to act quickly.
“We call on more countries to step forward in accepting patients and for medical evacuations to be accelerated by all possible means,” said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus in a statement published on X.
The appeal came after the WHO announced it had facilitated the medical evacuation of 15 critically ill children to Jordan, accompanied by 42 escorts.
“We thank the government and healthcare workers of Jordan for continuously providing specialized care to patients from Gaza, especially children,” said Tedros.
The WHO has repeatedly expressed concern over the overwhelmed and deteriorating healthcare system in Gaza, as hospitals struggle with a high number of casualties and a severe shortage of medical supplies amid ongoing Israeli attacks.
The latest evacuation is part of ongoing efforts to transfer patients from the besieged territory for treatment abroad, but Tedros emphasized that much more needs to be done to address the scale of the medical crisis.
Israel is facing growing outrage over the destructive war in Gaza, where more than 61.000 people have been killed since October 2023. The military campaign has devastated the enclave and brought it to the brink of famine.
In November last year, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel is also facing a genocide lawsuit before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) over the war in the enclave.
