GENEVA, Sept 12 (Askume) – The World Health Organization said on Thursday it had evacuated 97 people from Gaza, almost half of them children, to the United Arab Emirates for treatment in a rare move, and urged the resumption of such evacuations on a regular basis.
The World Health Organization estimates that the conflict between Israel and Hamas has devastated Gaza’s health system, with only 17 of 36 hospitals now partially functioning. The main Rafah crossing for medical supplies from Gaza to Egypt has been closed since Israel stepped up military operations in southern Gaza in May.
Richard Pepperkorn, the WHO representative in the occupied Palestinian territories, briefed reporters on Wednesday’s operation, “which is the largest evacuation from the Gaza Strip since October 2023.”
Those patients include those suffering from cancer, blood and kidney diseases, and trauma, he said.
They were evacuated first by ground and then by plane from Israel’s Ramon Airport.
“Gaza needs medical corridors. We need a better organised and more sustainable system,” he said, adding that more than 10,000 Gazans are waiting to be relocated.
Peeperkorn also said that more than 500,000 children in Gaza have been vaccinated in the first phase of the polio campaign, which is set to end in northern Gaza on Thursday. Last month, Gaza recorded its first case of the disease in 25 years .
He said, “We are satisfied with this polio campaign and are confident that it will benefit a large number of children in such a short time. We are confident that we will achieve 90% target.”
At the same press conference, the World Health Organization said that at least a quarter of Palestinians wounded in the Gaza conflict, or 22,500 people, suffered life-changing injuries, such as missing limbs, that would require treatment for years to come.
