WHO urges developed nations to increase medical evacuations from Gaza due to severe healthcare shortages and high patient needs.
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WHO Director for the European Region states that saving lives is a victory for humanity, highlighting that one critical consequence of the Gaza crisis is inadequate healthcare access. Many people in Gaza, including civilians and volunteers, have been injured but cannot receive care due to shortages of medicine, doctors, and damaged hospitals, endangering severely ill patients like cancer sufferers. While WHO recently reported transferring five critically ill patients from Gaza to Egypt following the opening of the Rafah crossing, medical evacuations remain minimal compared to the need. WHO urges developed nations, including EU members, to participate in medical evacuations; as of late last year, only half of the 397 evacuated patients were accepted by Italy, with other countries accepting smaller numbers while major nations like Germany have taken none. Médecins Sans Frontières warns that current evacuations are a drop in the ocean for those needing higher levels of care locally. Despite a ceasefire, the humanitarian situation has not improved, and the rate of medical evacuations has slowed from 148 in October to 71 in November, though over 7600 patients requiring specialized care have been evacuated since October 2023, while an estimated 15,600 people need urgent evacuation. Spain and Ireland have taken specific actions: Spain declared a state of emergency to provide basic services for refugees, especially children, covering travel, accommodation, and social support, while Ireland committed to accepting up to 30 severely injured children based on medical necessity like cancer or dialysis. WHO continues to call for increased evacuations contingent on receiving countries’ willingness and ability to ensure safe transport. MSF reports that hundreds of registered patients have died before reaching care, suggesting the actual number is much higher, and criticizes some nations for selectively accepting only certain groups, noting that while about a quarter of those on the WHO list are children, roughly two-thirds of evacuated patients were children according to WHO 2025 data.
