Children in the Gaza Strip are dying not only from bombs, but also from a lack of rapid medical evacuation. At the current pace, it will take more than seven years to remove 2,500 children in need of urgent treatment from the enclave, UNICEF spokesman James Elder said at a briefing in Geneva.
"Children are being evacuated from Gaza for medical reasons at an average rate of less than one child per day. If this deadly slow pace continues, it will take more than seven years to evacuate the enclave's 2,500 young residents in need of urgent medical attention," Elder said. . As a result, children in the Gaza Strip, he stressed, are dying “not only from bombs, bullets and shells,” but also from the lack of opportunity to leave Gaza “to receive emergency care that would save their lives.” A UNICEF official said that this year, from January 1 to May 7, an average of 296 children were evacuated from Gaza each month for medical reasons. Since the Rafah crossing was closed on May 7, the number of children evacuated for medical reasons has dropped to an average of 22 per month. Thus, only 127 children, many of whom suffer from head injuries, amputations, burns, cancer and acute malnutrition, have been allowed to leave the country since Rafah's closure.
