20 000 patients including 4 500 children are waiting for the crossing to open for treatment

The Ministry of Health in the Gaza Strip said today, Tuesday, that more than 20,000 Palestinian patients are waiting to be allowed to travel for treatment abroad, warning that the continued closure of the Rafah crossing directly threatens their lives. And the ministry added, in a statement, that among these patients are 440 cases classified as “Life Save”, while the number of children with medical referrals for external treatment is about 4,500. She explained that Israel’s continued closure of the Rafah crossing in the southern Gaza Strip to leave the sick and wounded, exacerbated their health conditions to dangerous levels, in light of the severe shortage of medicines and medical consumables, and the exit of most specialized services from the service, in addition to the destruction of hospital infrastructure. She emphasized that these conditions contributed to the enlarged waiting lists for treatment abroad, at a time when the health system is in a very difficult reality, which has led to a decline in the level of medical services and are often limited to emergency and life-saving cases. The ministry pointed out that 1,268 patients died while waiting to be allowed to travel for treatment, noting that cancer patients are the most affected, as about 4,000 tumors patients are on the waiting lists. And it indicated that only 3,100 patients have been able to leave the Gaza Strip since the Rafah crossing was closed on May 7, 2024, without clarifying the mechanism by which they were released. Israel had closed the crossing since it took control of it in May 2024, and destroyed its buildings during a ground operation in the city of Rafah, as part of its ongoing war on the Gaza Strip.