World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has warned that too few countries are willing to accept critically ill patients from Gaza in need of specialized medical treatment abroad.
In a post on X, Ghebreyesus said the WHO has identified 15,000 people, including 3,800 children, who require urgent care. So far, 700 patients, including 140 children, have died while waiting for evacuation, News.Az reports.
.@WHO is doing all we can to alleviate suffering, and evacuate those who need urgent medical care outside Gaza.
— Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (@DrTedros) September 13, 2025
The urgent problem we face is that too few countries are willing to receive them.
We call for countries to open their arms to these critically ill patients.
We call… pic.twitter.com/zAlknjHPj4
The WHO chief also called on Israel to allow patients from Gaza to receive care in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, where hospitals closer to home could treat many of the critically ill.
“We call for countries to open their arms to these critically ill patients,” Ghebreyesus wrote.