MSF Supports Evacuation of 13 additional severely injured children from Gaza to Switzerland  

Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) welcomes the Swiss government’s completion of a second round of 13 medical evacuations from Gaza, after an initial evacuation of 7 injured children on October 24. As the Swiss government’s humanitarian partner for the medical evacuations from Gaza, MSF supported both rounds by providing medical, mental health and logistical assistance to 20 patients and their families from their departure in Gaza to Amman and on to Switzerland. Following two years of intense war in Gaza, the health care system is destroyed, thousands of people are suffering from complex trauma injuries caused by bullets and bombs or from life-threatening conditions such as cancer or kidney failure. 

“We commend the Swiss government and cantons for enabling 20 patients from Gaza to receive lifesaving treatment in Swiss hospitals,” said Trish Newport, Head of MSF Emergency Response, in Switzerland. “These evacuations are life-changing and lifesaving. Already, more than 900 patients have died while waiting to be evacuated for treatment, and over 16,500 patients still remain on the medical evacuation list.” 

According to WHO, several governments have evacuated thousands of patients from Gaza including 3,995 patients to Egypt, 1,499 to the United Arab Emirates and 970 to Qatar, as of 21 October. MSF expresses deep gratitude to all countries undertaking these lifesaving evacuations and urges resourceful nations to scale up their efforts to save as many patients as possible. 

One month into the Gaza ceasefire, living conditions remain desperate, with vital infrastructure destroyed, mass displacement, and insufficient aid,” Newport added. “Palestinians continue to be killed and injured by Israeli forces almost every day, while severe restrictions on humanitarian aid persist. The Israeli authorities must immediately allow a massive and unimpeded scale-up of humanitarian assistance into Gaza and facilitate medical evacuation of all patients who require treatment that is not available in the Strip.” ​