Gaza Herald – Over 18,500 sick and war-wounded Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, including nearly 4,000 children, remain trapped in desperate need of urgent medical evacuation to receive life-saving treatment outside the enclave, the United Nations warned.
UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric highlighted that Gaza’s health system is on the verge of collapse. Strict movement restrictions at crossings and prolonged bureaucratic delays have left thousands of lives hanging in the balance, with many patients facing rapid deterioration due to the severe shortage of medical equipment and treatment options.
The most critical cases include victims of Israeli airstrikes and military operations, cancer patients whose treatment was interrupted, kidney failure sufferers, and individuals with complex congenital or trauma-related conditions that cannot be treated locally.
Dujarric pointed out that Gaza hospitals still operating are overwhelmed, struggling with extreme shortages of medicines and fuel, putting patients in intensive care and neonatal wards at immediate risk.
The spokesman called for accelerated medical evacuation procedures and the opening of safe humanitarian corridors to ensure that critically ill patients can access the treatment they urgently need.
