Geneva - Saba:
The World Health Organization (WHO) has called on more countries to receive and treat patients from the Gaza Strip, following the medical evacuation of a group of patients, most of them children, to Jordan.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on the "X" platform last night: "WHO oversaw the medical evacuation of 35 patients, most of them children, from Gaza to Jordan, accompanied by 72 family members."
He added, "We are grateful to the Government of Jordan for its continued support and for providing specialized care to critically ill patients."
He continued, "More than 10,000 people in Gaza still need medical evacuation."
He added: "We urge more countries to accept patients for medical evacuation — their lives depend on it. Many are waiting."
The organization renewed its call to expand medical corridors, including the full resumption of the traditional referral pathway to hospitals in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, which was in place before the war.
It added that, at the current pace, it would take years to evacuate all Gaza patients in need of treatment.
According to WHO, airstrikes and the lack of medical supplies, food, water, and fuel in Gaza have "almost completely depleted" the already under-resourced healthcare system, with many hospitals out of service and others barely functioning.