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STORY: WHO / GAZA PATIENTS EVACUATION
TRT: 05:52
SOURCE: WHO
RESTRICTIONS: PLEASE CREDIT WHO ON SCREEN
LANGUAGES: ARABIC / ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 19 MARCH 2025, EUROPEAN GAZA HOSPITAL, RAFAH, GAZA STRIP
1. Various shots, patients and companions at hospital, being briefed by WHO team, whilst waiting to board evacuation convoy buses and ambulances
2. Various shots, patient Mustafa and his sister playing
3. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Huda Farah, mother of patient Mustafa, Palestinian:
“I was displaced and living in a tent. I had a caesarean section nine days before and the third day of Eid, while I was in the tent, I was preparing food for my children. I wanted to feed Mustafa and while feeding him, Mustafa was shot, and I looked at him, his head was sticking out, meaning his brain was sticking out in front of him.”
4. Various shots, smartphone showing video of Mustafa as an infant being taken into hospital by health worker
5. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Huda Farah, mother of patient Mustafa, Palestinian:
“It turned out that a gunshot had entered and exited his head, and he suffered from a brain haemorrhage, convulsions, and a skull fracture. He is still suffering from a brain laceration and a mass in the brain, and we need treatment.”
6. Various shots, Mustafa sitting on his mother’s knee
7. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Huda Farah, mother of patient Mustafa, Palestinian:
“I was very happy when they called me. As I was suffering in Gaza because there were no treatment options for my son, and I wished that any country would take my son for treatment. Thankfully they called me and told me that my son’s treatment will be carried out in Italy.”
8. Various shots, patient Abdullah on bed, playing with and hugging his child
9. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Abdullah Juma, patient, Palestinian:
“I don't know the exact moment. There was an explosion, and I found myself flying out of the explosion with my leg injured. I had an open fracture and shattering in my knee and the top of the knee joint in my femur. Of course, the first moments were very, very, very difficult. I was lying there for a quarter of an hour waiting until people could help me. ”
10. Close up, Abdullah’s phone screen showing his injured leg, bandaged
11. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Abdullah Juma, patient, Palestinian:
“I was extremely happy when I received the news that I would be traveling abroad for treatment; and I am hoping that I will be able to get treated abroad, especially that they have all the capabilities, unlike here and, especially with the ongoing siege and situation I don’t see any possibility of my treatment.”
12. Various shots, patient Sila with her siblings
13. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Imad Radwan, mother of patient Sila, Palestinian:
“Sila has a hole in her heart, I discovered it during the first weeks of birth, as she was suffocating, and something felt wrong, so I had her examined and she was diagnosed with a hole in her heart; that could close in a month or two. Therefore, I started following up with her every month or two until she became seven years old, and the hole has not closed yet. She was on a list to have the surgery as this kind of operation is not available in Gaza. Thankfully Doctors Without Borders helped us in coordination with the World Health Organization so that she could travel to France and receive treatment, and hopefully everything will be fine.”
14. Various shots, patients and companions walking to, and boarding, waiting buses, with family members and friends waving and hugging goodbye
15. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Shannon Barkley, Health System Team Lead in the occupied Palestinian territory, World Health Organization (WHO):
“We’re at the European Gaza Hospital participating in a medical evacuation. Today we have 22 patients, who will be leaving for the European Union along with 49 companions. They will be treated for a variety of medical conditions and we’re very thankful that they will be able to get that they need. Patients will be going specifically to Italy, Norway, France and Romania.”
16. Various shots, convoy departing hospital, heading towards Kerem Shalom crossing point
Despite growing security and movement challenges in Gaza, World Health Organization (WHO) and partners, in collaboration with the Humanitarian Aid department of the European Commission (ECHO), successfully evacuated 22 patients via Kerem Shalom yesterday (19 Mar) to receive specialized treatment abroad.
They were accompanied by 49 caregivers.
The Rafah crossing, which was opened for medical evacuation as a condition of the ceasefire, is once again closed.
An estimated 11,000–13,000 people in Gaza, including 4,500 children, are still in urgent need of medical evacuation.
WHO warns that lives hang in the balance and urgently call for the immediate resumption of daily medical evacuations through all possible routes, including the restoration of medical referrals to the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
