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STORY: WHO / GAZA UAE PATIENTS EVACUATION 2
TRT: 07:46
SOURCE: WHO
RESTRICTIONS: PLEASE CREDIT WHO ON SCREEN
LANGUAGE: ARABIC / NATS
DATELINE:
22 JULY 2024, AL AQSA HOSPITAL, CENTRAL GAZA, PALESTINE
1. Various shots, Lama being examined by health workers, and shots of her injuries
2. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Dr Mona Abdel Razek Abu Houli, Mother of Two Children:
“I am the mother of the two children Lama, and Malak Abu Houli, Dr Mona Abdel Razek Abu Houli. I want to talk about my daughter's situation; we were injured on the third of April with a tank shell that was fired at the door of our house, Lama, Malak, and Ahmad were injured, and my thirteen-year-old Dima was killed. When Lama was injured by the tank shell, I was right next to her, but nothing happened to me, but Lama had her arm and leg injured, Malak and Ahmad were also injured, and their condition was very critical. Thankfully they were moved to the hospital, and we received the care that the hospital can provide to their abilities, because as you know all the hospitals in Gaza Strip do not have all the necessary capabilities to treat children. My daughter has bone fragmentation, and an infection in her foot bones.”
3. Various shots, Lama and her mother Mona reading to her and holding her hand
4. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Dr Mona Abdel Razek Abu Houli, Mother of Two Children:
“I hope that I get to treat my children outside of the country, and hope they get better, and be able to walk on their feet again like before. I truly thank the WHO for following up on my children and the entire Gaza Strip kids who they can reach. I also hope for this war to end. Thank you.”
27 JULY 2024, IDP CAMP, KHAN YOUNIS, GAZA, PALESTINE
5. Various shots, Ahmed fetching water, filling a bottle, and drinking from it
6. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Ahmed Haboush, Patient:
“I need chemotherapy treatment, and it’s not currently available in the hospitals, and my health is getting worse, and frankly I don’t know what I should do. Doctors have told me that my treatment is not available in Gaza strip, and it’s only available outside of the country.”
7. Various shots, Ahmed sitting with his family.
8. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Ahmed Haboush, Patient:
“Of course, I hope to travel outside, and get treated with chemotherapy. I also hope that I regain my health, so I can return back to my children fully recovered.”
9. Various shots, Ahmed lying on a bed through a curtain
27 JULY 2024, AL-SHIFA MEDICAL COMPLEX, GAZA, PALESTINE
10. Various shots, WHO vehicles arriving and beginning to load patients and companions into the armoured vehicles
11. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Karam Muhammad Al-Durra, Evacuation Patient:
“I hope that I can get back to my normal life, to school, to the sea, to my friends.”
12. Med shot, Karam’s father saying good bye to him in the back of the vehicle
13. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Jana Awda, Evacuation Patient:
“I wish to thank you. I am leaving the country to get a kidney transplant and I wish to thank you all. As they helped us, may God help them. I say I started going to school like they go, my life is like theirs, nothing changes for them, and I am going to agricultural college. I love life more than someone who loves life. I must love her.”
14. Various shots, people saying goodbye to patients and the convoy setting off
85 sick and severely injured patients from Gaza were evacuated today (30 Jun) to Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE), for specialized care. This extremely complex joint evacuation was supported by the World Health Organization (WHO) in partnership with the Government of the UAE and other partners. This is the largest medical evacuation outside Gaza since October 2023.
The patients include 35 children and 50 adults, who were transferred from Gaza via Kerem Shalom to Ramon Airport in Israel, with support from WHO. Fifty-three patients have cancer, including 4 children, 20 have trauma injuries, 3 have blood diseases, including thalassemia, 3 have congenital conditions, 2 have fanconi anaemia, 1 has a neurological condition, 1 has cardiac disease, 1 has liver disease, and 1 has renal failure. Sixty-three family members and care givers accompanied the patients.
The evacuation, originally scheduled for 29 July, was postponed, adding significant challenges to the operation, and diverting scarce resources.
SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Dr Mona Abdel Razek Abu Houli, Mother of Two Children:
“I am the mother of the two children Lama, and Malak Abu Houli, Dr Mona Abdel Razek Abu Houli. I want to talk about my daughter's situation; we were injured on the third of April with a tank shell that was fired at the door of our house, Lama, Malak, and Ahmad were injured, and my thirteen-year-old Dima was killed. When Lama was injured by the tank shell, I was right next to her, but nothing happened to me, but Lama had her arm and leg injured, Malak and Ahmad were also injured, and their condition was very critical. Thankfully they were moved to the hospital, and we received the care that the hospital can provide to their abilities, because as you know all the hospitals in Gaza Strip do not have all the necessary capabilities to treat children. My daughter has bone fragmentation, and an infection in her foot bones.”
SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Dr Mona Abdel Razek Abu Houli, Mother of Two Children:
“I hope that I get to treat my children outside of the country, and hope they get better, and be able to walk on their feet again like before. I truly thank the WHO for following up on my children and the entire Gaza Strip kids who they can reach. I also hope for this war to end. Thank you.”
Despite damaged roads, insecurity, and risks to their own safety, the WHO team organized and managed the transfer of patients from various areas in Gaza to the Kerem Shalom crossing under extremely challenging conditions.
Prior to the evacuation, 9 patients were transferred by WHO and partners on July 27 from northern Gaza to the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) field hospital in Deir al-Balah for stabilization and further movement. Other patients were picked up from five locations in Deir al-Balah and Khan Younis. Some critically injured patients, who had already been relocated to the final departure point in the south, were accommodated, and cared for at the Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) field hospital in Deir al-Balah, in coordination with WHO, following the postponement of the mission. WHO and the International Medical Corps team provided medical supplies, electricity, safe water, and sanitation facilities at the hospital as it is still being set up.
SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Ahmed Haboush, Patient:
“I need chemotherapy treatment, and it’s not currently available in the hospitals, and my health is getting worse, and frankly I don’t know what I should do. Doctors have told me that my treatment is not available in Gaza strip, and it’s only available outside of the country.”
SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Ahmed Haboush, Patient:
“Of course, I hope to travel outside, and get treated with chemotherapy. I also hope that I regain my health, so I can return back to my children fully recovered.”
During the evacuation, patients underwent back-to-back transfer at Kerem Shalom, where they boarded buses, organized by WHO, heading to the airport after security checks. WHO provided wheelchairs to ensure patients could safely switch buses at the crossing, arranged access to food, water and medical professionals during the entire journey within Gaza and en route to the airport, and supported patient documentation.
SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Karam Muhammad Al-Durra, Evacuation Patient:
“I hope that I can get back to my normal life, to school, to the sea, to my friends.”
SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Jana Awda, Evacuation Patient:
“I wish to thank you. I am leaving the country to get a kidney transplant and I wish to thank you all. As they helped us, may God help them. I say I started going to school like they go, my life is like theirs, nothing changes for them, and I am going to agricultural college. I love life more than someone who loves life. I must love her.”
Other partners supporting the evacuation included the emergency medical teams Cadus and International Medical Corps, MSF Belgium and PRCS.
Since October 2023, around 5,000 people have been evacuated for treatment outside Gaza, with over 80 percent receiving care in Egypt, Qatar, and the UAE. Over 10,000 more people in Gaza still need medical evacuation. Today’s evacuation follows previous ones to Spain and Belgium from Cairo, coordinated by WHO. Twenty patients have been evacuated to these countries in the past few days.
WHO continues to call on the international community to intensify efforts to ensure safe, sustained, timely, and organized medical evacuations.
