The World Health Organization has sounded the alarm over Gaza’s worsening medical crisis, warning that tens of thousands of Palestinians face death without immediate evacuation.
WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Thursday that more than 16,500 people in Gaza urgently need life-saving medical care unavailable inside the besieged territory, calling it “a race against time and humanity’s conscience.”
In a post shared on X, Dr. Tedros confirmed that 19 critically ill patients and 93 companions were flown this week from Gaza to Italy under a WHO-coordinated medical evacuation.
He thanked the Italian government for its “solidarity and swift action,” but stressed that far greater international support was needed.
“We urge more countries to receive patients from Gaza, as over 16,500 people still need urgent medical care that is not available in the Strip,” he wrote.
The airlift to Italy is part of a fragile chain of humanitarian corridors organized by WHO since the outbreak of conflict in October 2023.
The latest evacuation included cancer patients, children suffering from blast injuries and others with chronic illnesses that can no longer be treated locally due to the collapse of Gaza’s hospitals.
Italy’s Foreign Ministry confirmed the patients were being admitted to facilities in Rome and Milan, including specialized trauma and pediatric oncology centers. “This is not charity,” a ministry spokesperson said. “It’s an act of duty to save lives that should never have been put at risk.”
The WHO has helped nearly 8,000 Gazans – more than 5,500 of them children – receive medical care abroad since the start of hostilities.
These missions rely on cooperation with host nations such as Jordan, Egypt, the UAE, Romania, the Netherlands, Spain, Türkiye and now Italy, but every new evacuation faces logistical and political hurdles.
Earlier this week, WHO oversaw another transfer of 20 patients to Jordan, including four children slated to receive advanced cancer therapy under the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital partnership. Yet these operations represent only a small fraction of the overwhelming medical need.
“Each evacuation is a miracle,” said one WHO official coordinating the effort from Amman. “But for every patient we move, dozens more die waiting for permission or transport.”
Once considered the backbone of Gaza’s resilience, the health system is now “functionally destroyed,” according to WHO’s latest field assessment.
Of 36 hospitals, only 17 are partially operational, running at 200% to 300% capacity and dependent on erratic generator power.
The Nasser Medical Complex, Gaza’s largest referral center, stopped functioning in June after Israeli airstrikes destroyed its intensive care unit and pharmacy.
In Gaza City, Al-Shifa Hospital, once a 750-bed flagship institution, now serves primarily as a shelter for displaced families, with doctors performing surgeries by flashlight.
Shortages of anesthesia, antibiotics and even clean bandages have left operating theaters silent.
WHO reports that many physicians have resorted to reusing surgical tools and disinfecting wounds with salt water. “There’s no distinction between a hospital and a morgue anymore,” said one Palestinian surgeon reached by satellite phone.
The situation is further compounded by disease outbreaks.
A WHO situation report issued Oct. 7 confirmed more than 100,000 cases of acute watery diarrhea among children under five, alongside spikes in hepatitis A, polio and respiratory infections. Malnutrition rates are climbing, with one in three Gazan children now acutely underweight.
The Gaza Health Ministry estimates over 71,000 Palestinians have been killed since the inception of Israeli attacks on the enclave, though aid groups say the true figure may exceed 100,000 once indirect deaths from disease and starvation are counted.
Women and children comprise roughly 70% of the victims.
WHO’s October report said the agency delivered 1,424 metric tons of medical supplies into Gaza between Sept. 11-28 – equivalent to 72 truckloads – yet these shipments meet only a fraction of the needs of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents, 90 percent of whom are now displaced.
“This is the most intense health emergency we have faced in decades,” Dr. Tedros said last week in a Geneva briefing. “Doctors are treating children on the floor. Dialysis machines have stopped. There is no anesthesia, no antibiotics, no fuel. These are not hospitals anymore – they are war zones.”
The WHO chief has repeatedly urged all parties to allow humanitarian access and to reopen crossings, including those in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, which have been closed since early 2024.
Patients and families attempting to cross through Rafah or Erez face days of uncertainty, bureaucratic delays and at times gunfire near the checkpoints.
The medical emergency unfolds against a backdrop of fragile cease-fire efforts.
A truce allowed limited aid deliveries and the exchange of bodies between Israeli and Palestinian authorities.
But within days, Israel vowed to resume operations to “destroy Hamas,” while artillery fire was reported near Khan Younis and Rafah.
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) said in its Situation Report #195 that Gaza’s field hospitals handled more than 74,000 consultations in October, most in tents or damaged schools.
International organizations, including the Palestine Red Crescent Society and Médecins Sans Frontieres, warn that any renewed fighting could collapse what remains of the health network.
Dr. Tedros ended his message with a familiar refrain: “cease-fire. Peace is the best medicine.”
The WHO has appealed for $525 million to sustain emergency health operations across the occupied Palestinian territories, part of a $14.3 billion global humanitarian plan for conflict zones.
