WHO / GAZA PATIENTS EVACUATION

On 8 December, WHO evacuated 25 patients and 92 companions from Gaza to Italy, Belgium, Norway, and Romania. More than 18,500 patients still require medical evacuation for advanced treatment unavailable in Gaza. WHO

• Video Length: 00:06:16
• Production Date: 9 December 2025
• Asset Language: Arabic
• Corporate Name: WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION - WHO
• Subject Topical: HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE; MEDICAL TREATMENT
• Geographic Subject: GAZA
• MAMS Id: 3512855
• Parent Id: 3512855
• Alternate Title: unifeed251209h

Description

STORY: WHO / GAZA PATIENTS EVACUATION
TRT: 6:20
SOURCE: WHO
RESTRICTION: PLEASE CREDIT WHO ON SCREEN
LANGUAGE: ARABIC / ENGLISH / NATS

DATELINE: 07 AND 08 DECEMBER 2025, GAZA

Shotlist

07 DECEMBER 2025, PALESTINE RED CRESCENT SOCIETY FIELD HOSPITAL, AL MAWASI

1.Wide shot, field hospital, with people hugging and saying goodbye
2.Med shot, a patient on a stretcher being moved into a field hospital ward.
3. Various shots, WHO examining and talking with patients before the medical evacuation the next morning
4. Med shot, patient Mena, lying in a bed
5. Med shot, patient Mena crawling towards her mother Duaa
6. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Dr Duaa Tayser Azzah, mother of patient Mena:
“I had a caesarean; and then I knew during the surgery that she had a cleft palate, and a cleft lip. She also had a congenital absence (of digits) on hands and feet. I was obviously extremely shocked, as during my pregnancy I didn’t know of any of this, and they all assured us that everything was fine. We were later also informed that she has an intestinal obstruction.
7. Med shot, a phone screen showing Mena with a cleft palate
8. Med shot, a phone screen showing Mena after medical intervention for her cleft palate
9. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Dr Duaa Tayser Azzah, mother of patient Mena:
“During her journey? Well, she can’t eat like a regular person, whenever it’s time to feed her, you get scared as you have to make sure that all of her food is mashed, and smooth for her to be able to eat it normally, otherwise if she had It as it is, we would definitely be going to the hospital.”
10. Med shot, Mena sitting on her mother’s lap
11. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Dr Duaa Tayser Azzah, mother of patient Mena:
“An indescribable feeling. She's three and a half years old. There's bullying going on. You've probably heard about it, but when the call came, I felt relieved that someone was looking out for us. Someone is addressing this issue, and maybe the girl will get much better.”
12. Various shots, Habiba lying on a mattress next to her mother
13. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Soha Fathi Abu Radwan, mother of Habiba Radwan:
“I was four months pregnant when I inhaled toxic gunpowder. I went to the doctor, who told me the baby had birth defects due to war, or that we might have inhaled gunpowder or something similar. I told him we had been bombed near where we were, and that I had inhaled some of the gunpowder.”
14. Med shot, a phone screen showing the cyst on Habiba’s back
15. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Soha Fathi Abu Radwan, mother of Habiba Radwan:
“Habiba, after she was born, yes, I mean, she cried a lot. A lot. She was in pain. I used to take her to the hospital. The doctor would see her. He would tell me that there was no treatment available for her. There was nothing else we could give her. All we could do was try to ease her pain, or get her to sleep and calm down. More than one doctor saw Habiba, and none of them could do anything for her.”
16. Various shots, Habiba asleep on her mother’s lap
17. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Soha Fathi Abu Radwan, mother of Habiba Radwan:
“The child’s condition is extremely difficult and when we received the call, we were so happy and relieved. May God heal her and grant her good health. Because every moment her condition worsens; it gets worse, the cysts are getting bigger.”

08 DECEMBER 2025, PALESTINE RED CRESCENT SOCIETY FIELD HOSPITAL, AL MAWASI

18. Various shots, patients being stretchered to waiting ambulances, with companions besides them
19. Various shots, patients and companions boarding awaiting buses.
20. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Luca Pigozzi, Emergency Medical Team Coordinator, WHO:
“So today we are at the medical evacuation hub in Mawasi that the World Health Organization built in close collaboration with the Palestine Red Crescent to support the medical evacuation of 25 patients and in total 117 people to multiple countries including Italy, Norway, Belgium and Romania. We are still advocating for more corridors for patients to be evacuated abroad and get their advanced treatment, particularly because there are still 16,000 patients in urgent need for better treatment abroad.”
21. Various shots, ambulances and buses waiting to depart, including mother of Habiba Radwan
22. Various shots, the convoy departing towards Kerem Shalom crossing

Storyline

On 8 December, WHO evacuated 25 patients and 92 companions from Gaza to Italy, Belgium, Norway, and Romania. More than 18,500 patients still require medical evacuation for advanced treatment unavailable in Gaza.

WHO continues to call for more countries to step forward and accept patients, and for the opening of all crossings for medical evacuation, particularly West Bank, including east Jerusalem, which is the most cost and time effective route.