WHO transfers 15 Gaza children to Spain for urgent medical care

Geneva - Ma'an - The World Health Organization announced that 15 children and one woman from the Gaza Strip suffering from serious injuries and diseases will be transferred from Egypt to Spain to receive urgent medical care . The World Health Organization explained that the children between the ages of 3 and 17 and the mother of one of them will receive treatment in Spain . The organization indicated that the patients received treatment in Egypt for several months after their evacuation from Gaza, adding that they were among thousands of children and adults in Gaza who need specialized medical care outside the Palestinian sector . Tedros welcomed "the facilities provided by Egypt and Spain", and urged "other countries that have the capacity and medical facilities to receive people who, through no fault of their own, have fallen into the clutches of this war ." The children, who were accompanied by 25 family members and several caregivers, were in Egypt before May 6, when the Rafah border crossing was clos ed, making evacuations almost impossible . The World Health Organization said only 23 people have been evacuated since then through the nearby Kerem Shalom crossing . Since the outbreak of the Israeli aggression on Gaza, about five thousand people have been evacuated to receive treatment outside the Strip, more than 80 percent of whom are receiving treatment in Egypt, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates . At least 10,000 more people are awaiting urgent medical evacuation from the Gaza Strip, according to the World Health Organization . The children evacuated are 'just the tip of the iceberg, ' said Hanan Balkhy, WHO Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean. 'Getting people with serious illnesses to get the medical care they need should not be headline news, but a routine global collaboration, ' Tedros said. Source: Maan News Agency