Geneva: WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Wednesday confirmed that more than 900 people have died while waiting for medical evacuation from the Gaza Strip. Speaking at a news conference, Ghebreyesus highlighted the urgent need to open crossings for evacuation, particularly to the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and called on countries to receive more patients.
According to Kuwait News Agency, more than 16,500 people, including almost 4,000 children, are still awaiting medical evacuation. Ghebreyesus affirmed the organization's support for rebuilding Gaza's health system and emphasized the necessity of evacuating patients in need of treatment outside the Strip. This comes one month after the announcement of the ceasefire in Gaza.
Ghebreyesus further stated that WHO has supported the evacuation of almost 8,000 patients, including more than 5,500 children, over the past two years. Since WHO took over coordinating medical evacuations in May 2024, the organization has supported 119 medical evacuation missions, including one today.