The World Health Organization (WHO) announced on Wednesday that it has carried out a medical evacuation of 41 critically ill patients and 145 companions from the besieged Gaza Strip.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus wrote: “WHO led today medical evacuation of 41 critical patients and 145 companions out of Gaza. Around 15,000 patients are still waiting for evacuation.”

According to WHO data, more than 15,000 people in Gaza — including approximately 3,800 children — remain on waiting lists for evacuation to receive essential medical care outside the enclave.

These patients include those wounded by the ongoing war, those with life-threatening conditions such as cancer and heart disease, and people whose local health services have collapsed amid the two-year conflict.

Gaza’s health infrastructure has been devastated by the conflict, with many hospitals damaged or non-functional. A recent statement by humanitarian agencies described parts of the territory as “looking like a dystopian film” due to the combination of war damage, medical shortages, and blocked evacuation routes.

The evacuation of 41 patients marks one of the few recent movements of critically ill individuals out of Gaza since a cease-fire took effect. However, the pace remains painfully slow. Humanitarian observers point to the prolonged closure of the key Rafah Crossing (between Gaza and Egypt) and stringent approval procedures as major barriers.

One aid organization reports that at least 740 patients, including 137 children, have died while waiting for evacuation since last July.

Director-General Tedros urged the international community to open “all available evacuation routes” and to provide support for the backlog of thousands of patients.

“We continue to call on countries to show their solidarity and for all routes to be opened to expedite the medical evacuation,” he said.

While the WHO-led operation offers a lifeline to the evacuated patients, it underlines a far greater crisis: the grinding humanitarian toll of a health system in near collapse and the large number of people still unable to access lifesaving treatment.

For many Palestinians in Gaza, especially children and those with chronic conditions, the delay in evacuation is not simply an inconvenience — it can be a death sentence. Humanitarian groups warn that unless evacuation capacities and access are scaled up rapidly, many more will perish without ever leaving the enclave for treatment. (ILKHA)