85 patients evacuated from Gaza to UAE — WHO

GENEVA, Switzerland - The WHO said 85 sick and severely injured patients had been evacuated from the Gaza Strip to the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday for specialist treatment, in a complex major operation.

The patients included 35 children and 50 adults, the World Health Organization said, accompanied by 63 family members and caregivers.

They were transferred from Gaza via the Kerem Shalom crossing into Israel and then to Ramon Airport near Eilat in southern Israel, and then flown to Abu Dhabi.

"Fifty-three patients have cancer, including four children; 20 have trauma injuries; three have blood diseases, including thalassemia; three have congenital conditions; two have fanconi anaemia; one has a neurological condition; one has cardiac disease; one has liver disease; and one has renal failure," the WHO said.

The Hamas attack on southern Israel that started the Gaza war resulted in the deaths of 1,197 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.

Israel's retaliatory military campaign in Gaza has killed at least 39,400 people, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run Palestinian territory, which does not provide details on civilian and militant deaths.

Since October, around 5,000 people have been evacuated for treatment outside Gaza, with more than 80 percent of those receiving care in Egypt, Qatar and the UAE.

Over 10,000 more people in Gaza still need medical evacuation, the WHO said.

"We are thankful to the UAE for supporting the evacuation of these patients to receive the urgent care they need," said WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

"We hope this paves the way for the establishment of evacuation corridors via all possible routes, including the Kerem Shalom and Rafah crossings to Egypt and Jordan, and from there to other countries.

"We also call for evacuations to the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, to be restored. Thousands of sick people are suffering needlessly. Above all, and as always, we call for a ceasefire." — Agence France-Presse