MSF Statement: Medical Evacuations from Gaza
On 26 October, four war-wounded children arrived with their caretakers to MSF’s hospital in Amman, Jordan, after being medically evacuated from Gaza. They are currently stable, however will need long-term rehabilitative care after sustaining severe injuries in explosions in Gaza.
According to the WHO, over 15,600 people – one in four of whom are children – are awaiting lifesaving medical evacuation from Gaza. Patients have complex trauma injuries caused by bullets and bombs, or life-threatening and chronic conditions such as cancer or kidney failure.
“Some patients lose their lives before they get the chance to be evacuated,” says Cyril Cappai, MSF head of mission. “In the past we’ve called to confirm evacuations from Gaza only to find the patients had already died. The health system has been destroyed. The needs are immense.”
We call on all governments and Israel to urgently scale up medical evacuations for thousands of patients unable to access care in Gaza. This must go hand in hand with efforts to uphold the ceasefire and to immediately allow a massive, unhindered flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza.