WHO transfers patient to Rafah hospital as Gaza medical crisis deepens

The World Health Organization (WHO) announced it has coordinated the first patient referral to the Emirati Field Hospital in Rafah, Gaza, after the facility became accessible again following months of military restrictions. The hospital is currently the only functioning medical center serving the wider Rafah area, according to the UN health agency.

Staggering Evacuation Backlog and Death Toll

Richard Peeperkorn, WHO's representative for the occupied Palestinian territory, disclosed alarming figures in Geneva on Friday. Since October 2023, 10,645 patients have been medically evacuated from Gaza, over half of them children. However, Gaza's Health Ministry records show that 1,092 patients died while awaiting evacuation between July 2024 and late November 2025, a number WHO notes is likely underreported. Peeperkorn stated that more than 18,500 patients, including over 4,000 children, still require urgent evacuation for specialized treatment.

Calls for International Response and Ongoing Challenges

Peeperkorn emphasized that the WHO will continue supporting patient referrals to the Rafah field hospital for specialized surgeries. He called for more countries to accept medical evacuees and for the restoration of medical transfer routes to the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. The humanitarian and medical crisis in Gaza remains catastrophic, with the limited resumption of services at a single field hospital doing little to address the overwhelming scale of need created by prolonged conflict and blockade.