In a significant development amid ongoing border closures, twenty-one critically ill children were evacuated from Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, on June 27. This marks the first medical evacuation since the besieged enclave’s sole travel crossing was shut down in early May.
With the Rafah border crossing remaining closed, these young patients are set to exit through the Kerem Shalom border crossing. However, the closure has led to an unprecedented situation where parents are unable to accompany their sons and daughters, leaving families in distress and uncertainty about where their children will receive treatment.
Muhammad Zaqout, principal of Nasser Hospital, expressed deep concern over the escalating health crisis. Speaking to CGTN, he revealed that more than 25,000 patients in Gaza need to go abroad for treatment, including nearly 1,000 children with cancer. He emphasized that the Kerem Shalom crossing is insufficient to meet these urgent needs. “We all the time need to open the Rafah border crossing to treat our patients because it is the safe way and it is the ordinary way which worked before,” Zaqout stated.
The closure of the Rafah crossing has severely limited access to essential medical services for Gaza residents. Healthcare professionals and humanitarian organizations are urgently calling for the reopening of the crossing to ensure that patients receive timely and adequate care.
This evacuation highlights the pressing humanitarian concerns in the region and the profound impact of border closures on vulnerable populations, particularly children in need of critical medical attention.
Reference(s):
Stringer Dispatch: 21 children leave Gaza for medical treatment
cgtn.com
