Türkiye to evacuate more patients from besieged Gaza

Ankara, The Gulf Observer: Türkiye has said that it prepared a list of 50 patients, mostly children, to evacuate from the besieged Gaza, where relentless Israeli attacks have taken place for 46 days.

After Türkiye received two groups of a total of 88 patients from the besieged Palestinian enclave in the past weeks, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said on Tuesday a third evacuation could happen in the coming days.

“The third evacuation may be carried out in the coming days,” Koca told Turkish lawmakers at parliament in the capital Ankara, adding that the country’s priority was “babies, children, and the injured.”

“We are currently working on a list of 50 people, mainly children. I think this will be finalised in the coming days,” he added

Koca said a coordination team with Israel, Egypt, and Türkiye was working on the third evacuation group, including on how much of Ankara’s 50-person list can be brought through.

Noting that, along with the 88 patients, Türkiye had received a total of 150 people Gaza including 62 companions, he said six patients were receiving intensive care.

When asked about the evacuation of premature babies from Gaza, he said they were planning to first evacuate babies under 12 months old and toddlers and children up to 4 years old.