Gaza patients face delays and deaths while waiting for medical evacuation, Hamas-run health ministry says

Gaza patients referred for medical treatment abroad are facing prolonged delays in the evacuation process, Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry says, with an estimated 300 Palestinians who were referred for travel dying since the ceasefire began in October. The BBC reported on the account of a family in Gaza who waited for an evacuation call that arrived only after the patient had died.

The case highlighted by the BBC concerns Amina Abu al-Kas, who died on 29 May while waiting to leave the Strip for treatment. According to her son, Saber Abu al-Kas, Gaza’s medical board approved her referral for overseas care, but the family said they then had to wait for the patient to clear multiple steps required to leave, including security approvals and acceptance by a foreign destination.

Saber Abu al-Kas told the BBC that his mother’s condition deteriorated while they waited. He said doctors in Gaza told the family there was no treatment available in the Strip for the aggressive infection she had developed, which doctors said had spread to her skull. He described pain that kept his mother awake and restrictions on pain medication because of side effects, saying that the family’s chances depended on whether a call would come permitting travel through the relevant crossings.

In the months after the referral, Saber Abu al-Kas said the family anticipated a sudden authorization that would allow them to travel. He described a scenario in which they prepared to leave at any moment, expecting they might receive instructions to get ready for the trip. Instead, he said no response came in time.

The BBC reported that the family received hospital notification only after Amina had died, stating that her paperwork was ready. Saber told the BBC that two weeks after her death, he was called by the hospital to say the documents were complete.

The broader figures cited by the Hamas-run health ministry, including the estimate that about 300 referred patients have died since the October ceasefire began, frame the case as part of a wider breakdown in medical evacuation from Gaza. The BBC report said the figure is used by the World Health Organization, indicating that it has been taken up in international assessments of health access under current constraints.

In a separate context piece, AOL summarized United Nations warnings and ongoing limitations on movement in Gaza, noting that few people are able to get in or out and that civilian access to care and safety continues to be heavily constrained during the post-ceasefire period.

Rights groups and international health agencies have repeatedly raised concerns that the combination of disrupted medical systems and barriers to travel can turn referrals into dead ends. As more cases surface, the key question for authorities and mediators is how evacuation timelines and clearance processes can be shortened so referred patients can receive treatment before their condition becomes irreversible.