Gaza: The World Health Organization (WHO) has announced that as many as 16,500 patients in the Gaza Strip are still waiting to be evacuated for medical treatment abroad, stressing that its medical supplies are ready at the border but cannot enter the enclave due to the closure of crossings.
According to Qatar News Agency, WHO called for the urgent reopening of the Rafah crossing and all other crossings, stressing that Rafah is a critical conduit for medical evacuations and an essential entry point for health supplies into Gaza. Life-saving aid must flow unhindered, and more countries should receive these patients for medical treatment, the statement read.
For its part, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) warned against the worsening health and living conditions in the Gaza Strip amid the ongoing blockade and closure of crossings as winter approaches. Hundreds of thousands of families in the Gaza enclave are facing the start of winter without protection or safe shelter, while only 4% of agricultural lands in the Strip remain arable and accessible amid the immense devastation caused by the ongoing Israeli onslaught, OCHA highlighted.
The Israeli occupation forces have so far imposed a hermetic lockdown on the Gaza Strip since the start of their aggression on October 7, 2023, cutting off electricity, fuel, and food supplies to the population. They have also targeted the Rafah crossing to block the flow of life-saving humanitarian aid, a move widely condemned by the international community and UN human rights organizations.
Notwithstanding the Israeli occupation forces’ pledge to allow the entry of humanitarian aid into the Strip following the ceasefire deal on October 10, they continue to delay the entry of sufficient aid to meet the urgent needs of the people of Gaza.