UNITED NATIONS: United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has urged for the immediate evacuation of 2,500 children from Gaza to receive medical treatment, after meeting with American doctors who warned that these children face a high risk of death in the coming weeks.
Guterres said he was “deeply moved” by his discussion with the doctors, who had volunteered in Gaza during the ongoing 15-month war between Israel and Hamas. The conflict has caused severe damage to Gaza’s healthcare system, leaving many without treatment.
“2,500 children must be immediately evacuated with the guarantee that they will be able to return to their families and communities,” Guterres wrote on social media, according to The Guardian.
Just before a ceasefire began on 19 January, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported that more than 12,000 patients were waiting for medical evacuation. However, despite the truce, medical evacuations have not increased as expected.
Dr Feroze Sidhwa, a trauma surgeon from California who worked in Gaza last year, warned that many of these children will not survive without urgent treatment.
“There’s about 2,500 children who are at imminent risk of death in the next few weeks. Some are dying right now. Some will die tomorrow. Some will die the next day,” Sidhwa told reporters after meeting Guterres, as reported by The Guardian.
Sidhwa explained that many children need basic medical care, such as a three-year-old boy whose burn injuries had healed but left scar tissue cutting off blood flow to his arm. Without treatment, he could need amputation.
Dr Ayesha Khan, an emergency doctor from Stanford University Hospital, spoke about children with amputations who lack prosthetics or rehabilitation. She shared a photo of two young sisters who lost their legs in an attack. They were now orphaned and sharing a single wheelchair.
“Their only chance for survival is to be medically evacuated,” Khan told The Guardian.
She also highlighted strict security rules preventing children from travelling with more than one caregiver, making evacuations even harder.
“Their caregiver is their aunt, who has a baby that she is breastfeeding,” Khan explained. “Even though we arranged an evacuation for the sisters, authorities won’t let the aunt bring her baby. So she has to choose between the baby she’s breastfeeding and the lives of her two nieces.”
The Israeli defence agency COGAT, which handles Palestinian affairs, did not respond to a request for comment on Guterres’ appeal. Israel’s UN mission also declined to comment, The Guardian reported.
The doctors called for a clear, centralised process for evacuations. “Under this ceasefire agreement, there is supposed to be a mechanism in place for medical evacuations. We’ve still not seen that process spelled out,” said Dr Thaer Ahmad, an emergency doctor from Chicago who worked in Gaza in January 2024. Khan also raised concerns about whether evacuated children will be allowed to return.
“There is talk of the Rafah border opening only for exits, but it’s exit without right to return,” she warned.
Before the ceasefire, the WHO said it had helped evacuate 5,383 patients since the war began in October 2023, but most were moved in the first seven months before the Rafah crossing between Egypt and Gaza was closed.
Agencies