1000 medical evacuations from Gaza: WHO thanks European Region countries who have offered care

25 October 2025

WHO has helped to medically evacuate over 1000 patients from Gaza to countries in the WHO European Region. On reaching this milestone, Dr Hans Henri P Kluge, WHO Regional Director for Europe, thanked the 17 countries who have offered urgent medical care and other countries who have provided specialized transit for Gazan patients since October 2023. Now, Dr Kluge has intensified his personal outreach to all Member States of the Region to expedite evacuations and appeal for more hospital beds and specialized care that is not available in Gaza.

“To the governments, health-care workers and citizens of the 17 countries who responded so willingly to our medevac request: thank you. Your solidarity reflects the belief that health is a human right, and that empathy knows no borders. Your actions are a template for other countries to follow, and we encourage them to do the same. While 1000 medevacs to the European Region is an important milestone, this remains a drop in the ocean of need. An estimated 3800 children are still waiting for urgent specialized treatment outside Gaza. It’s not too late to help, because every child saved is a future secured. I call on the European Region to rise to the occasion, because saving lives is not political; it’s moral, it’s urgent, and it’s within our reach.”

 

WHO
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Since October 2023, WHO has helped to medically evacuate over 1000 patients from Gaza. Each evacuation is logistically complex and intense – a testament to humanity and solidarity in the face of suffering.

 The vast majority of evacuees are children.

“WHO/Europe calls on countries in the European Region to urgently scale up evacuations of sick and injured Palestinians requiring critical medical care. Innocent lives – many of them children – hang in the balance. We must act now, or history will not judge us kindly,” said Dr Hans Henri P. Kluge, WHO Regional Director for Europe.

Bruno Thevenin
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Mónica García Gómez, Minister of Health of Spain, welcomes Palestinian children arriving in Spain.

In July 2024, Spain became the first country in the European Region to accept sick and injured Palestinian children into its hospitals through pathways coordinated by WHO and the Emergency Response Coordination Centre (ERCC).

Mónica García Gomez, Minister of Health of Spain: “Europe must use every available mechanism to address the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. We hope more countries join soon and host more children. Every life counts.”  

The operation was carried out through the European Union Civil Protection Mechanism (EUCPM) in close
coordination with the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund and authorities of all countries involved.

WHO/Department for Emergency Situations, Romania
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Romania has been instrumental in some of the most complex medical evacuations of patients from Gaza.

The Romanian government alongside WHO, ERCC and various health partners have orchestrated some of the most complex medical evacuations through the EUCPM involving civil and military actors.    

The Romanian Air Force flies to Ramon airport in Israel and then to Bucharest. In Bucharest, patients are either transferred to hospitals in Romania or transferred to a third country.    
 
“These types of missions represent the ultimate achievement of all our professional training so far,” said Captain Ioan Cramar from the Romanian Air Force, who was on one of the missions transporting sick and injured Gazan patients to Romania.   

Dr Alexandru Rafila, Minister of Health of Romania: “We will continue to offer our support if needed and welcome other children who are injured or have medical conditions requiring urgent treatment.”

Bruno Therevin
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Almost all bilateral evacuations to 6 Member States in the European Region have been organized from Cairo airport.

The Ministry of Health and Population of Egypt, supported by WHO, has established a standard procedure for further evacuating these patients to European Region countries and other destinations worldwide. Two out of 3 medical evacuations conducted through the EUCPM were also facilitated from Egypt.
 
Türkiye was the first country in the European Region to accept sick and injured patients from Gaza, from 2023 onwards, through direct agreements with relevant countries and authorities. To date, Türkiye has accepted more patients than any other country in the Region.

WHO/Bashar Al-Bilbisi
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The process of medical evacuation from a war zone is complex, long and fraught. Bashar Al-Bilbisi, a 25-year-old pharmacist, was evacuated from Gaza as part of a coordinated effort between many agencies, and between WHO’s regional offices.

Bashar suffered severe injuries to his leg in a missile attack. Now he and the 28 other sick and injured patients who were part of his medical evacuation are currently receiving specialist treatment in 4 countries in the European Region: France, Norway, Spain and Türkiye.
 
His friend, Dr Catherine Le Scolan-Quéré was among the first to greet him at his bedside in Rennes, France. “Bashar’s evacuation was a success thanks to the professionalism and humanity of the entire WHO and consulate teams,” she says. “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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