WHO Evacuates Nearly 100 Patients From Gaza Strip To United Arab Emirates

Evacuation of patients from the Gaza Strip to the UAE. (Twitter/@DrTedros)

JAKARTA - The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Thursday it had evacuated 97 patients, about half of whom were children, from the Gaza Strip, Palestine to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for medical treatment, urging the start of the transfer on a regular basis.

"This is the largest evacuation from Gaza since October 2023," said Richard Peeperkorn, WHO Representative for the occupied Palestinian territories told reporters about the operation, which took place on Wednesday.

The patients include people suffering from cancer, blood and kidney disease, as well as trauma, he said.

They were evacuated by road and then by air from Ramon airport in Israel.

"Gaza needs a medical corridor. We need a more organized and sustainable system," he said, adding more than 10,000 Gazans were waiting for the transfer.

Peeperkorn also said more than 500,000 children in Gaza had now been vaccinated in the first phase of the polio campaign that would end in northern Gaza on Thursday.

"We are pleased with this polio campaign and are also quite confident that we have reached a large number of children in this short time. We believe we have reached the target of 90 percent," he explained.

It is known that the Israeli-Hamas conflict has destroyed Gaza's health system and only 17 of the 36 hospitals are currently partially functioning, according to WHO estimates.

Rafah's main departure for medical transfer from Gaza to Egypt has been closed since May, as Israel stepped up its military campaign in southern Gaza.

Separately, the Palestinian death toll from Israel's deadly aggression against the Gaza Strip since October 7, 2023 has now jumped to 41,118, medical sources confirmed on Thursday, with injuries reaching 95,125, as quoted by WAFA.