Over 900 Gaza patients die as medical evacuations blocked: WHO
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WHO warns that more than 900 Gaza patients have died due to evacuation delays as thousands, including children, remain trapped by the Israeli restrictions.
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A barefoot boy walks in the rain carrying a plastic jerrycan of water in the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood of Gaza City, on November 14, 2025 (AP)
More than 900 Palestinian patients in the Gaza Strip have died due to severe delays in medical evacuations caused by the Israeli restrictions on travel permits, the World Health Organization (WHO) warned on Sunday. The organization said thousands more face life-threatening risks as they wait for approval to leave for urgent medical care.
The WHO stated that around 16,500 patients are still awaiting clearance to leave Gaza for treatment, including nearly 4,000 children in critical need of life-saving medical transfers. It warned that any further delays by the Israeli regime would amount to a death sentence for patients denied evacuation.
Hospitals in Gaza are currently operating at less than half their capacity due to a collapse in supplies, including fuel, medication, and critical medical equipment. Since May 2024, the WHO has completed 119 medical evacuation missions, transferring approximately 8,000 patients, among them 5,500 children.
Despite these missions, thousands remain in urgent need, facing catastrophic conditions inside Gaza’s shattered healthcare system. The WHO highlighted that the backlog of patients continues to grow amid the ongoing blockade and damage to hospitals.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the organization is working to restore healthcare services and move critically injured patients out of Gaza one month after the ceasefire took effect.
In a post on X, he thanked the 30 countries currently receiving patients and urged others to step in, stressing that “more than 16,500 patients, including almost 4,000 children, are awaiting evacuation to receive urgent care outside of Gaza.” He called for all evacuation routes to be opened by the Israeli occupation.
One month after the ceasefire in #Gaza, WHO is on the ground rebuilding health systems and ensuring patients receive life-saving care through medical evacuations.
— Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (@DrTedros) November 16, 2025
I thank the 30 countries that have opened their doors to receive patients for care and call on others to join - more… pic.twitter.com/YiyhY7FkbT
The UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) accused the Israeli entity of deliberately obstructing humanitarian aid deliveries despite ceasefire terms requiring unhindered assistance. UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini told the UN General Assembly Fourth Committee that Palestinians are facing winter conditions with minimal shelter as aid access remains heavily restricted.
He said only a fraction of essential supplies has been allowed into Gaza, leaving families increasingly vulnerable. Lazzarini also appealed to donor nations for urgent funding, warning that severe shortfalls, driven largely by US cuts, are threatening UNRWA’s ability to continue life-supporting operations for Palestinians.
Flooded Gaza camps deepen suffering
On a related note, heavy rainfall has deepened the suffering of displaced Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, where thousands of makeshift tents were inundated on Friday, prompting urgent rescue calls to the Civil Defense.
The Civil Defense in Gaza confirmed it has received continuous distress calls from the early morning, as tents collapsed and became flooded with rainwater in camps and shelters scattered across multiple areas. The most severe cases were recorded in Gaza City, particularly in al-Nafaq, al-Daraj, al-Yarmouk, al-Zaytoun, and the al-Shati refugee camp.
The situation was similarly dire in the central governorate, including al-Baraka and al-Bassa in Deir al-Balah, near the Islamic Bank on Salah al-Din Street west of al-Bureij camp, and in displacement sites surrounding the Nuseirat market area.
With winter conditions arriving and infrastructure destroyed by months of bombardment, civil defense authorities urged immediate international intervention. It appealed specifically to countries overseeing the ceasefire negotiations in Gaza to take responsibility for the humanitarian disaster affecting nearly half a million families uprooted by what it described as the Israeli occupation’s ongoing war of extermination.
The Civil Defense stressed that these families are living in extremely harsh conditions inside overcrowded displacement camps and temporary shelters, demanding the urgent entry of caravans, housing units, and weather-resistant tents to prevent further catastrophe as temperatures drop.
