Dr Richard Pepperkorn, Representative of the World Health Organisation in the occupied Palestinian territories, extended special thanks to the UAE for the contributions it is providing and making to the organisation in Gaza.
Dr Pepperkorn said in a press conference held today via video from Gaza with journalists in Geneva that the organisation, in partnership with the UAE, organised yesterday a medical evacuation from Gaza to Abu Dhabi.
The group departed from Ramon Airport in Israel and via the Kerem Shalom crossing to receive the highest level of medical care, which is the largest since October 23, 2023.
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Pepperkorn explained that the medical evacuation process was very complex and within a very narrow time window, noting that the process included 97 people, 49 of whom were women and 48 men, who were patients and had severe injuries, half of whom were injured due to the war in Gaza and the other half were suffering from chronic diseases. 155 people accompanied the patients.
Yesterday, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organisation, expressed his appreciation to the UAE for its support in evacuating patients and the injured from the Gaza Strip to receive the urgent care they need. He said, “We hope that this initiative and other initiatives will enhance the available capabilities, which could lead to more evacuations for a greater number of individuals.”
It is worth noting that since the beginning of the crisis, the UAE has made strenuous efforts to enhance the relief response towards the injured and sick Palestinian brothers and support them in the critical circumstances they are going through.
It has evacuated 1,665 patients and their companions in previous initiatives, bringing the number of patients and their companions to 1,917 patients and their companions with a plane yesterday. The UAE has provided more than 40,000 tons of urgent aid, including food, medical and relief supplies, via 10 ships, 1,300 trucks, 316 aircraft and 104 airdrops as part of Operation “Birds of Goodness”, through which more than 3,450 tons were dropped from the air over northern Gaza.