In the wait for life-saving care
In Gaza’s crowded hospitals, the clock ticks relentlessly as families await medical evacuations that can mean the difference between life and death. For Hani Mohammad Abu Zarqa and his wife, the call they prayed for finally came after more than 40 days at Nasser hospital in Khan Younis. Their six-month-old daughter Habiba was slated to be transferred out of Gaza to receive urgent care that isn’t available locally. The family’s hopes rested on a narrow corridor of relief that has repeatedly been stretched and redefined by conflict, politics, and a fragile humanitarian system.
The story of Habiba is not unique. Across Gaza, parents describe a similar mix of determination and fear as they place their children’s lives in the hands of evacuation teams, medical escorts, and international aid organizations trying to navigate blocked borders and disrupted healthcare networks. The process is meant to be a lifeline, yet it is frequently interrupted by delays, capacity limits, and shifting security conditions that force families back to hospital wards and crowded waiting areas.
The process and the obstacles
Medical evacuation from Gaza typically involves coordination between local medical teams, international humanitarian agencies, and, when possible, entry points to neighboring regions or countries. For families like Habiba’s, the path includes stabilizing the child’s condition, securing permissions, arranging safe transport, and ensuring continued medical monitoring during transfer. Each step carries risk—delays can worsen a child’s condition; movement through compromised road networks can be perilous; and the added strain of displacement can affect families physically and emotionally as they wait for news in uncertain conditions.
Hospitals like Nasser in Khan Younis have become centers of both care and heartbreak. Doctors work tirelessly to stabilize young patients while advocating for the necessary permissions and corridors that allow life-saving transfers to proceed. In the background, aid groups monitor and coordinate with authorities to maximize the chance that a child can reach a facility with the needed specialized care, whether in neighboring countries or within safer regional corridors.
A family’s moment of hope—and sorrow
This week, Habiba’s family faced a heartbreaking reversal: despite the long wait and careful planning, one child who had already left Gaza for treatment died just days after departure. The loss underscores the high stakes of every evacuation and the terrible costs of the delays that can accompany complex logistics in conflict zones. Hani Abu Zarqa has spoken about a grief that sits alongside hope—the hope that their remaining child will receive the urgent care she needs while acknowledging how fragile the entire process can be under siege conditions.
Stories like theirs illuminate the realities on the ground: medical evacuations in Gaza are a critical thread of care but also a constant reminder of the limits imposed by conflict. They highlight the human cost of war and the international responsibilities to protect vulnerable children who depend on a functioning healthcare system to survive and thrive.
What aid groups are doing—and what’s needed
Humanitarian organizations continue to advocate for predictable, safe evacuation routes and the rapid transfer of critically ill children. They work to streamline paperwork, secure humanitarian corridors, and provide medical escorts and equipment to ensure that once a child is cleared for transfer, the journey does not become a new source of risk. Local medical teams in Gaza, alongside international partners, emphasize the need for reliable electricity, adequate hospital capacity, and uninterrupted access to essential medicines—elements that can dramatically alter outcomes for young patients needing urgent care.
For families and communities, the priority remains simple yet profound: safeguarding the health and future of every child. As the international community debates solutions, front-line caregivers and aid partners stress the urgency of enabling safer, faster medical evacuations so that families do not face the double burden of conflict and illness.
Looking ahead
The road to reliable medical evacuations in Gaza is long and complex. It requires sustained political will, robust humanitarian access, and a commitment to protecting the most vulnerable—children who depend on medical transfer for a chance at life. While Habiba’s story embodies both the resilience and fragility of such efforts, it also serves as a call to action for all stakeholders to prioritize safe, timely transfers and to prevent avoidable tragedies in the days ahead.
