Evacuating 21,000 Gaza patients could take eight years, ministry says

Gaza’s Health Ministry said evacuating Palestinian patients and injured people who need urgent medical treatment abroad could take about eight years under current procedures and restrictions. The health authority said the delays amount to a “slow death sentence” for thousands of critically ill people.

Operative Information Center-OMM reports that an emergency statement issued by the ministry stressed that, even if no new patients are added to the list, sending the 21,000 critically ill patients and injured people currently registered abroad would take at least four years.

Taking into account new patients added each month because of injuries sustained in military operations and a lack of treatment options, the overall evacuation process could take eight years. The ministry called on the United Nations (UN) and international humanitarian organizations to urgently pressure Israel to fully open border crossings and ensure unrestricted medical evacuations.

According to the latest figures from Gaza’s Health Ministry, the number of people killed in ongoing military operations in the region has risen to 74,250, while 175,278 people have been injured.