Medical evacuation · Gaza to Egypt through Rafah
Getting patients to specialist care
A clinical referral is only the start. Medical evacuation also needs an accepting hospital, clearance and a safe route.
· Retrospective
From referral to an agreed destination
The World Health Organization supports medical evacuation for people in Gaza whose lifesaving specialist care is unavailable locally. Its published pathway begins with a clinician’s referral and review by the Referral Committee, which decides priority and approves cases for evacuation. WHO then checks patient information and shares approved lists with countries that may receive patients.
Acceptance by a host country and security clearance for patients and companions are separate requirements. WHO coordinates the transfer after those steps. Clinical prioritization remains with the Referral Committee. A referral alone cannot create an available hospital place or permission to cross.
The March route through Rafah
WHO’s flash update covering March 5–26, 2026 recorded two missions on March 19 and 22 that took 16 patients and 30 companions to Egypt. Evacuations paused from March 23 to 25 because safe conditions were not in place. A further mission on March 26 moved 17 patients and 30 companions.
The companions appear alongside patients in the operational record because movement arrangements have to account for both. These small, dated missions show a route operating in intervals, with access dependent on conditions each time a transfer was due to proceed.
Connecting transport with specialist care
WHO’s wider evacuation reporting explains the work beyond the crossing. In its October 2025 European Region account, Egypt’s Ministry of Health and Population, supported by WHO, had established arrangements for onward transfers to receiving countries. Other routes involved WHO, the European Union’s Emergency Response Coordination Centre, national authorities and the EU Civil Protection Mechanism.
Romania’s role illustrated how a receiving country can also be a transit point: some patients entered Romanian hospitals, while others travelled onward. That coordination links transport capacity to an appropriate treatment destination. The March mission record documents transfers; it does not report the later clinical outcomes of those patients.