First ceasefire evacuation: 41 critically ill patients leave Gaza
Shafaq News – Gaza
Forty-one critically ill patients were evacuated from Gaza on Thursday in the first medical transfer from the enclave since the ceasefire took effect, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced.
In a post on X, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus highlighted that nearly 15,000 patients remain on the waiting list for treatment, urging countries to demonstrate solidarity and open all possible routes to accelerate medical evacuations.
Many of those awaiting evacuation are suffering from injuries sustained during the war between Israel and Hamas, in which Israel has killed more than 68,000 people and injured over 170,000 since October 7, 2023, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health.
Others are battling chronic illnesses such as cancer and heart disease — conditions that Gaza’s overwhelmed healthcare system is no longer equipped to handle.
.@WHO led today medical evacuation of 41 critical patients and 145 companions out of #Gaza - first since the ceasefire.Around 15 000 patients are still waiting for approval to receive medical care outside Gaza. We continue to call on countries to show their solidarity and for… pic.twitter.com/GTK1UGGvJy
— Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (@DrTedros) October 22, 2025
Since the beginning of the war, more than 7,000 patients have been evacuated from Gaza, with Egypt receiving over half of them. However, the evacuation rate has dropped sharply since Israel took control of the Rafah border crossing in May 2024, with fewer than four patients now leaving the enclave each day.
Meanwhile, only 986 aid trucks have entered the strip since the ceasefire began, the enclave’s Government Media Office confirmed, stressing that the number remains far below the 6,600 that were expected under the truce agreement.
In a statement, the office outlined that the daily average stood at 89 trucks, compared with the 600 that should enter each day. Among the deliveries were 14 trucks carrying cooking gas and 28 transporting diesel fuel.
“The quantities do not meet the minimum humanitarian and living needs,” the statement cautioned, accusing Israel of maintaining a “policy of strangulation and collective punishment” against Gaza’s 2.4 million residents.
Since the ceasefire, World Food Programme has delivered 6,700 tons of food into #Gaza, enough for half a million people for two weeks."People are hopeful; there is cautious optimism," says @AbeerEtefa of @WFP. pic.twitter.com/A4iUJs3tRl
— United Nations Geneva (@UNGeneva) October 21, 2025
Moreover, the World Food Programme (WFP) noted that the supplies entering Gaza since the truce took effect are sufficient to feed around 500,000 people for two weeks, emphasizing that deliveries remain “far below the required level,” while urging for a consistent aid flow “to sustain the bare minimum conditions for life.”
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