ammonnews.net

Ammon News - Rick Pepperkorn, WHO representative in the West Bank and Gaza, said the Israeli closure of the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and Gaza has prevented the medical evacuation of at least two thousand patients in Gaza, calling for the reopening of Rafah and other crossings.

Before the closure, "approximately 50 critical patients per day were leaving Gaza. This means that as of May 7, at least two thousand people have been unable to leave Gaza to receive medical care," he said.

The Rafah crossing has been the main conduit for evacuations as well as humanitarian aid arriving in the war that began on October 7. The crossing was closed when Israel launched an operation in southern Gaza in May.

"Evacuation is necessary for at least 10.000 people from Gaza, Pepperkorn said, adding that the figure is an underestimate compared to the actual number of people who need urgent medical care for war injuries and chronic illnesses."

"We need more routes for emergency medical evacuation," the WHO official said, adding that they would like to see other routes opened to take patients to East Jerusalem or the West Bank.