The United Nations Information Centre, Tokyo (UNIC Tokyo) expresses its sincere gratitude to the Government of Japan for the medical evacuation of two Palestinian patients, who have been hospitalized in Egypt after being injured in the fighting in the Gaza Strip, to Japan last week and for the treatment at the Self-Defense Forces Central Hospital of the Ministry of Defense. This effort was in response to an urgent request from the World Health Organization (WHO) in view of the serious humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip, and it was undertaken in cooperation with the Government of Egypt. They are to return to their original place after the treatment. Japan has accepted medical evacuation of injured Palestinians for the first time since the war in Gaza began in October 2023.

Kaoru Nemoto, Director of UNIC Tokyo, said, “I would like to welcome that Japan’s hope to support the Palestinian people in an unimaginable hardship has materialized in the form of much-needed medical evacuation. It is an achievement of the strong cooperation of those involved.”

With numerous medical facilities in the Gaza Strip under attack and medical services collapsing, medical evacuation is a top priority for the WHO. According to WHO, between 11,000 and 13,000 people are still waiting for medical evacuation for emergency treatment outside the Gaza Strip. Of those, 4,500 are children.

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