GENEVA, Feb 3 (Reuters) - âA World Health Organization official said on Tuesday that the first five patients were â transferred through Gaza's Rafah crossing with Egypt, which reopened on Monday.
"On the second of February, âWHO and partners supported the medical evacuation of five âpatients and seven companions to Egypt via the Rafah crossing," said WHO spokesperson Christian Lindmeier.
"It was âthe first medical evacuation through this route since sometime in 2025," he said referring to a limited number of evacuations during an early 2025 ceasefire.
Over 18,500 patients are âawaiting evacuations after the two-year war, he said, âwith trauma injuries from the war as well as âchronic conditions such as cancer and diabetes.
A UNICEF spokesperson said that more than 3,000 of âthem were children. Gaza health authorities are choosing whom â to prioritise among the sick and âwounded, Lindmeier said.Â
"We know âthat patients have died basically waiting for evacuation, and that's something which is horrible when you â know just a â few miles or kilometers outside that border, help âis available," he added.
(Reporting by Emma Farge, editing by Thomas âSeythal and Madeline Chambers)
