"Hi, Cathy. There was a bombing at a cafe. Bashar’s leg is seriously injured. 80% of his friends are dead.”
That is the heart-stopping message Dr Catherine Le Scolan-Quéré received in June 2025, while working in her general practice in Brittany. It was about her friend, Bashar Al-Bilbisi, a 25-year-old pharmacist from Gaza.
Just over a month later, on 31 July, Bashar became 1 of 5 patients medically evacuated from Gaza to France. Now receiving care in hospital in Rennes, in northwestern France, doctors are trying to save his leg.
Since October 2023, 919 patients have been evacuated from Gaza to 16 countries in the WHO European Region. France has received 27; its humanitarian leadership in this medical evacuation illustrates why multilateralism is essential in our interconnected world to strengthen global health.
A shared commitment to healing
Bashar is a trained pharmacist and dancer. He and Catherine share a love of medicine and a strong commitment to helping others. Both are also keenly interested in the arts.
He is passionate about dabke, a traditional Palestinian dance form for which he helped to secure UNESCO recognition; meanwhile, Catherine’s passion is photography. They met in 2023 when Bashar was touring in France with his dance troupe, Al Farsan. After the tour, they stayed in touch. Later that year, after the attacks of 7 October, and the subsequent war, they communicated more regularly.
As supplies of medicine in Gaza ran low, Bashar became increasingly frustrated by his inability to help; he threw himself into running dabke and yoga dance sessions for children and young people, to support their mental health and distract them from the conflict.
“Bashar is an intelligent, calm, discreet and very open-minded person with a strong will and an impressive mentality. He doesn’t divide but rather unites people around his projects. He’s a beautiful soul,” says Catherine. In 2024, she signed up to work for 2 weeks in Gaza’s Nasser Hospital, offering her skills as a medical doctor:
“I felt very lucky to be able to help. When I arrived at the courtyard in Nasser Hospital, Bashar was waiting for me with his family.”
Injury and advocacy
A year later, on 30 June, Bashar was relaxing with friends in a beach-front cafe when a missile struck. Many of his friends were killed instantly, and he was horribly injured.
“I thought my leg had been completely blown off because the bones were broken and it looked terrifying,” says Bashar.
However, his ordeal was only just beginning.
“When I arrived at the hospital, due to the number of dead and injured, I was kept in the corridor. The treatment process was extremely difficult. There was a lack of medication, and my surgery was postponed. At first, they told my family that they would have to amputate my leg because they couldn’t perform daily wound cleaning. I needed antibiotics and pain killers, but there was a shortage of medication. I had to undergo some cleaning and wound dressing replacement without any anaesthesia.”
“His leg urgently required coverage of the fracture site with a skin flap, but this could not be done in Gaza,” says Catherine. “He was constantly in pain, and he only slept for 1 to 2 hours a night. There was nothing to feed him.”
She began advocating for his evacuation.
Medical evacuation – a chain of humanity
“Every patient evacuated from Gaza is a reminder that behind the numbers are real people with hopes and aspirations, just like you or me,” said Dr Hans Henri P. Kluge, WHO Regional Director for Europe. “When countries open their hospitals to sick and injured people from war zones, they show that cooperation is stronger than conflict. So far, 16 countries out of 53 in the WHO European Region have accepted 919 patients from Gaza. Yet the needs remain immense, with more than 14 800 patients requiring urgent evacuation. I thank France for taking 27 patients so far and I urge more countries to step forward to help – especially sick and injured children. History will remember those who acted with compassion and solidarity.”
In early July, the Health Emergencies Programme team at WHO/Europe, received a request for support to medically evacuate Bashar to France. The first step was to obtain the necessary documents from health authorities in Gaza, confirming that his medical condition required urgent evacuation. Through constant communication with the WHO in the occupied Palestinian territory (OPT) Country Office team in East Jerusalem, the required approval was secured.
The next step involved securing official approval from the French government to receive and treat Bashar. The WHO team kept up engagement with relevant stakeholders, including the French consular team in Jerusalem, the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs in Paris, and European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO) and the Emergency Response Coordination Centre (ERCC). This collaboration resulted in government approval to evacuate not only Bashar but also 4 other patients and their companions to France.
Further coordination with ERCC, WHO OPT and Spanish authorities was organized to secure air transport and other logistical arrangements. This coordinated effort led to a successful medical evacuation for Bashar and 28 other patients, who are currently receiving specialist treatment in 4 countries in the European Region: France, Norway, Spain and Türkiye.
Bashar is now in Rennes, France. He has already had 1 operation and is being assessed by a plastic surgeon. His recovery will be long and arduous.
Catherine was among the first to greet him at his bedside. “A month after the injury, we don’t know if his leg can be saved – I hope so,” says Catherine. “His leg is infected, but treatment conditions are optimal, and the surgeons will try everything. For now, he has many friends in Rennes, and he is alive and safe.”
“Bashar’s evacuation was a success thanks to the professionalism and humanity of the entire WHO and consulate teams,” she continues. “It’s a moral duty of care to save the people of Gaza. It isn’t a question of politics, it’s a question of humanity. All life deserves to be respected and protected – this is what WHO does every day.”
“The wounded and sick in Gaza are just like everyone else in the world,” says Bashar. “They have dreams, ambitions and hopes, but their situation is currently catastrophic. They’re all suffering. Services available in Gaza hospitals are very, very limited. Patients in Gaza need rest and a safe place for treatment, so it’s very important for countries to help evacuate and assist the wounded and injured.”
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An estimated 14 800 patients need urgent medical evacuation from Gaza for complex surgeries and/or treatments. WHO/Europe is deeply grateful for those countries who have committed to receiving Gazan patients via medical evacuation. We urge more countries to step forward to accept patients and for medical evacuations to be expedited through all possible routes.
WHO continues to ensure that solidarity is matched by coordination and resources, working alongside receiving countries, and with colleagues in OPT, the WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean, and partners in the European Union and the ERCC to coordinate cross-border medical evacuations and logistical planning.