ISTANBUL

More than 18,500 people in the Gaza Strip, including at least 4,000 children, still require evacuation for medical treatment unavailable in the territory, the World Health Organization said Wednesday.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the agency supported the evacuation of 21 patients from Gaza to Jordan on Jan. 19, accompanied by 36 relatives, and thanked Jordan for its continued cooperation.

Despite limited evacuations, Tedros said thousands of patients remain trapped in Gaza as the enclave’s health system continues to struggle under Israel’s ongoing military attacks, severe shortages of medicine and fuel, and extensive damage to hospitals.

He also welcomed the recent approval for one patient from Gaza to travel to the occupied West Bank following a ruling by the Jerusalem District Court, calling it the first such case since October 2023.

“This is a step in the right direction and must pave the way for the reopening of the medical evacuation route to the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, which remains the most time- and cost-effective route, with hospitals ready to receive patients,” Tedros said in a post on the US social media platform X.

According to Israeli military data, Israel continues to control Gaza’s southern and eastern buffer zones, as well as large areas in the north, maintaining control over more than half of the territory.

Since a ceasefire took effect, Israeli attacks have killed 483 Palestinians and wounded 1,287 others, while Israel has imposed severe restrictions on the entry of food, shelter materials and medical supplies into Gaza. About 2.4 million Palestinians are living in increasingly dire conditions.

Since the start of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza on Oct. 8, 2023, more than 71,000 Palestinians have been killed and over 171,000 wounded, most of them women and children. The United Nations estimates that about 90% of civilian infrastructure has been destroyed, with reconstruction costs expected to reach around $70 billion.