Thousands of Gazans need urgent medical evacuation due to destroyed healthcare and lack of resources, prompting international appeals.
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In early 2025, a mother from Gaza lost her six-year-old son due to lack of medicine while awaiting evacuation for treatment; his sister also has a rare kidney disease and is on the waiting list. The World Health Organization reports that 18,500 patients in Gaza require evacuation due to conditions like cancer and rare diseases, urging international governments to increase medical evacuations, which some argue Israel uses as a negotiation tactic. Before the war, limited treatment was available through East Jerusalem due to Israeli blockades, but now diagnostic tests are scarce and waiting lists for evacuation are enormous. After two years of conflict, thousands of Gazans with severe health issues are left without support in a destroyed healthcare system, making evacuation their only hope for survival. The WHO has repeatedly warned about the urgent need for vital medical evacuations. Furthermore, Israeli authorities announced restrictions on 37 organizations, including Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), from operating in Gaza and the West Bank starting in January, which MSF warns will deprive hundreds of thousands of Palestinians of essential care. The WHO Director-General has noted that evacuation rates remain extremely slow, putting many lives at risk, and has called on Israel to expedite medical evacuations through all possible border crossings. Between July 2024 and November 28, 2025, at least 1,092 patients have died while awaiting evacuation, a figure the Director-General suggests may be underestimated. Among receiving countries, Egypt, UAE, and Qatar have hosted the most patients; only 397 of the 10,600 transferred in two years were received by EU nations, with Germany accepting only one person. In Spain, pediatricians describe arriving patients suffering from various severe conditions, including trauma and chronic illnesses, often accompanied by their families. Medical evacuations to Europe are coordinated by the WHO and member states. While Italy has conducted regular medical evacuations of children, overall reception in Europe is deemed tragically insufficient, with critics pointing out minimal intake from countries like Germany and France. A pediatrician emphasizes that Gaza currently faces extreme shortages of medicine, food, shelter, and fuel within a non-existent healthcare system, which will be further impacted by future restrictions on NGOs.
