Gaza Herald – Thousands of patients in Gaza were left without access to lifesaving medical care after the closure of the Rafah crossing halted medical evacuations abroad.
The crossing, Gaza’s main gateway to the outside world, was shut on February 28 after Israeli authorities closed all crossings, citing security concerns amid regional tensions. The move abruptly stopped the transfer of wounded civilians and critically ill patients who had been waiting for treatment outside the territory.
Among them was five-month-old Alma Abu Reida, who suffers from a severe lung cyst and has been hospitalized for months at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, relying on an oxygen machine to breathe. Her family had prepared to travel through Rafah to Jordan for surgery that is not available in Gaza, but the crossing closed one day before their scheduled departure.
According to the Gaza Health Ministry, more than 20,000 patients and wounded civilians are currently waiting for medical evacuation, including 4,000 cancer patients, 4,500 children, and hundreds of critical cases requiring urgent treatment.
Human rights organizations say the continued closure of Gaza’s crossings amounts to collective punishment and risks condemning more patients to preventable deaths.
Al-Dameer Association for Human Rights warned that restricting medical evacuations deepens Gaza’s humanitarian crisis and leaves thousands without access to treatment that could save their lives.
Israeli authorities announced on Sunday that the Rafah crossing would reopen on Wednesday for the limited movement of civilians, though it remains unclear how many medical patients will be allowed to leave.
For thousands still waiting on evacuation lists, the reopening may come too late, or may not come soon enough.
