Brussels (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – EU Commission coordinated medical evacuations from Gaza, transferring patients to European hospitals amid the region’s destroyed healthcare system.
The European Commission has arranged a new medical evacuation from Gaza through the EU Civil Protection Mechanism, moving 8 patients in need of critical care and 25 attending family members to hospitals in Belgium, Romania and Spain.
Health Structures in the Gaza Strip are no longer working due to the ongoing war with Israel. There is an extreme shortage of resources and equipment, medical structures have been demolished and aid workers and medical personnel are not shielded and cannot work. As the hostilities in Gaza have led to the destruction of local medical systems, 10 European nations have so far offered medical treatment or transport to helpless Palestinian patients.
How is the EU supporting Gaza’s healthcare system amid the crisis?
As reported by the European Commission, a total of 59 patients from Gaza, together with 143 relatives, have now been vacated to European hospitals, either from Egypt or straight from Gaza. The procedure was financially and operationally funded by the EU Commission, in close coordination with the World Health Organization (WHO), EU Member States and Civil Protection Mechanism Participating States as well as appropriate authorities on the ground.
The measures are part of the EU’s overall aid to people most in need in Gaza, which includes €238 million in humanitarian grants in 2024 as well as EU Air Bridge flights which have delivered over 3,400 tonnes of cargo.
In her remarks, Commissioner for Equality, Preparedness and Crisis Management, Hadja Lahbib, stated: “The war in Gaza has led to a near complete shutdown of the Strip’s medical system. Access to healthcare is needed more than ever. We are therefore stepping up our medical evacuation to provide urgent care to Palestinians. I thank Belgium, Romania and Spain for welcoming the patients at their hospitals.”
