When Gaza’s medical board approved Amina Abu al‑Kas for treatment abroad, her son Saber saw it as a new lease on life. But the promise turned to silence, as the family waited for confirmation of security clearances and acceptance by a foreign hospital.
Amina’s pain was severe—an aggressive necrotising infection had spread to her skull, and local doctors lacked the medicines or therapies needed. Painkillers could only worsen her ulcers, so they were banned. Saber's nightly sobbing of his mother’s agony gave the family unbearable fear of an imminent death.
Despite the ceasefire on 20 October, 300 Palestinians have already died while awaiting evacuation, according to Gaza’s Hamas‑run health ministry. The WHO adds that 15,000 patients still need treatment abroad, from war‑related injuries to cancer and other conditions. Since the ceasefire, about 1,977 patients have left Gaza for medical care; the rest remain trapped by a complex web of processes.
Patients must be accepted by a foreign hospital, obtain visas, clear Israel’s security checks, and secure transit through the Rafah crossing with Egypt or the Kerem Shalom crossing with Israel. In mid‑June, Gaza’s health ministry identified the long security procedures and the restrictions on the number of departure days per week as the main bottlenecks. Amina’s son recounts that after two weeks of no response, he received a call from the hospital, only to find her paperwork had been prepared post‑mortem.
Israel’s Gaza authorities approved the import of 17,000 tons of medicine and medical equipment since the ceasefire, yet hospitals still face shortages of basic consumables and key surgical equipment. The International Committee of the Red Cross warns that these shortages mean patients may die before they receive needed care. The WHO cautions against paying illicit agents who promise to speed evacuation, urging patients to rely on official channels only.
In the dead‑in‑the‑narrow‑downtown of Gaza’s hospitals, power outages and limited generators force the cancellation of many surgeries. The Ministry of Health’s engineering director warns that without spare parts and new generators, the medical system risks catastrophe.
