A total of 231 Gazans were evacuated from the Gaza Strip by Israel on Wednesday and Thursday and put aboard flights to the United Arab Emirates for medical treatment.
It was the largest evacuation of civilians from the Gaza Strip since the start of the war, according to Israel’s Channel 12 News.
After a security check, the patients were transported in ambulance convoys to Ramon Airport near Eilat, from where they were flown to the U.A.E. Some also traveled to Romania.
Rik Peeperkorn, World Health Organization (WHO) representative for the Occupied Palestinian Territory, said the patients included children with trauma injuries and chronic diseases, Reuters reported.
However, Peeperkorn told a press conference, “These are ad hoc measures. What we have requested repeatedly is a sustained medevac [medical evacuation] outside of Gaza.”
More than 12,000 people are awaiting transfer, he said, adding “We cannot continue the way we do now.”
The Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), the Israeli body responsible for coordinating aid into Gaza, said it actively facilitates the evacuation of seriously ill or injured patients, Reuters reported.
The scope of evacuations, however, is limited by the capacity of organizations and countries to receive them, COGAT said.
