Israel cuts number of Gaza patients approved for medical evacuation to Egypt
Gaza Health Ministry says only 61 patients and companions were ultimately permitted to leave, condemning reductions as “unjustified punitive policies”
GAZA (MNTV) – Israeli authorities have reduced the number of wounded and sick Palestinians permitted to leave the Gaza Strip for medical treatment in Egypt, cutting an initially approved group of 136 patients and companions to 61, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.
The ministry said Thursday that 136 people had initially received official approval to travel. Israeli authorities later reduced the group to 72, sending the remaining patients and companions back.
It said that after patient transfers had already begun and despite objections from health officials, the Israeli side ordered another 11 people removed from the group, leaving only 61 authorized to depart.
The ministry said those scheduled for evacuation require urgent specialized treatment unavailable in Gaza.
In response, health officials said they would proceed only with critically ill patients requiring ambulance transport and return the remaining patients in what they described as a “collective protest” against what they called “unjustified punitive policies.”
The ministry said restricting medical evacuations violated patients’ right to treatment and could place hundreds of lives at risk by delaying access to specialized hospitals outside Gaza.
It urged the World Health Organization, the UN and other international bodies to intervene and press Israeli authorities to remove restrictions on medical transfers.
The ministry also called for all patients referred for treatment abroad to be allowed to leave Gaza in accordance with understandings reached in Sharm el-Sheikh in October, without further exclusions or reductions in future evacuation groups.
Gaza’s health system has been severely damaged during Israel’s military campaign since October 2023.
Palestinian authorities say more than 73,000 people have been killed and over 174,000 injured during the war.
Expert voices like Lancet say the actual number may be higher.
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