Only 12 patients a day on average have left Gaza for medical treatment in the 10 days since the Rafah border was partially opened, with reports of a seven-year-old boy dying this week while waiting to be evacuated for kidney treatment, Save the Children said. Data from the Gaza Media Office said there had been 120 medical evacuations since the border was partially opened despite a commitment to allow 50 people needing medical care to leave each day. This is only 24 percent of the 500 evacuations agreed by the Israeli authorities.
The current rate of evacuation means it would take 4.5 years for the 20,000 people including 4,000 children needing medical care to leave Gaza. The Gaza Ministry of Health said 1,268 patients had died in the past two years while waiting to leave for urgent medical treatment.
“Thousands of people in Gaza are facing a slow death sentence. The commitment made last Monday on the Rafah crossing is already catastrophically failing to meet the basic medical needs of thousands of children,” said Shurouq, Multimedia Manager Gaza, Save the Children. “At the current rate, it would take over four-and-a-half years for the 20,000 people who need urgent medical evacuations to leave.”
Every day since the crossing was opened, the Israeli authorities have fallen short of this commitment. A child has tragically already died a preventable death. For those on the waiting lists, the process feels random and unclear. “The people of Gaza are tired of the empty promises dressed up as progress by the Israeli authorities. Rafah border must urgently be opened without restrictions. People cannot wait one more day,” Shurouq said.
Save the Children is continuing to deliver lifesaving services and multi-sector programming through its 300 Palestinian staff and trusted local partners in the occupied Palestinian territory. Inside Gaza, Save the Children runs child-friendly spaces, temporary learning spaces, and mental health and psychosocial support for children as well as child protection case management.
