The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that thousands of critically ill patients in the Gaza Strip, many of them children, remain trapped without access to life-saving treatment amid Israel’s ongoing genocidal war and crippling blockade.

In a statement published Friday on X, WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that since October 2023, WHO and its partners have evacuated more than 10,600 patients from Gaza who were suffering from severe medical conditions and required advanced care unavailable inside the besieged territory. More than 5,600 of those evacuated were children.

“Each one was in need of critical, advanced treatment,” Tedros said, stressing that the evacuations, while vital, remain far from sufficient given the scale of suffering.

Despite these efforts, thousands of patients are still waiting inside Gaza for medical evacuation. According to figures from Gaza’s Ministry of Health, at least 1,092 patients died while awaiting evacuation between July 2024 and November 28, 2025. WHO officials warn that the real number is likely significantly higher due to the collapse of health reporting systems under bombardment and siege.

Tedros called on more countries to open their doors to patients from Gaza and urged the immediate restoration of medical evacuations to the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem. “Lives depend on it,” he said.

Children in Gaza have been among the most severely affected by Israel’s war and blockade. Thousands have suffered traumatic injuries, burns, amputations, and life-threatening conditions such as cancer, heart disease, kidney failure, and severe malnutrition. Many require complex surgeries, chemotherapy, dialysis, or long-term rehabilitation that Gaza’s shattered health system can no longer provide.

Hospitals across the Strip have been repeatedly targeted, besieged, or forced out of service, while shortages of fuel, electricity, clean water, medical supplies, and specialist staff have pushed the healthcare system to the brink of total collapse. Newborns in incubators, children dependent on ventilators, and young patients undergoing cancer treatment have faced repeated interruptions to care, often with fatal consequences.

Humanitarian agencies say the blockade has compounded the crisis, severely restricting the movement of patients, doctors, and medical supplies. Even when evacuation approvals are granted, delays, closed crossings, and security restrictions frequently prevent patients from reaching safety in time.

WHO and humanitarian organizations have repeatedly warned that denying timely medical evacuation violates international humanitarian law, particularly the obligation to protect civilians and ensure access to medical care during armed conflict.

“As bombs fall and borders remain sealed, children are dying not only from their injuries but from the inability to access basic and advanced medical care,” one health official said, describing the situation as a “slow, preventable death sentence” for many young patients.

Tedros reiterated WHO’s call for an immediate and sustained ceasefire, the protection of healthcare facilities, and the lifting of restrictions that prevent patients from accessing life-saving treatment.

As Gaza’s children continue to suffer under relentless bombardment and siege, health officials warn that without urgent international intervention, the death toll among those waiting for care will continue to rise. (ILKHA)