Need for medical evacuations out of Gaza ‘immense and growing’, WHO chief says
More than 18,500 patients, including 4,000 children, are currently waiting to leave the Gaza Strip for urgent specialised medical care, the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) has said.
On Monday, the WHO evacuated 25 people and 92 companions out of Gaza to countries including Belgium, Italy, Norway and Romania, Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus wrote on social media.
But the need for medical evacuations is “immense and growing” as “the number of people needing medical evacuation has been increasing”, Tedros warned.
“The increase is partly because people previously unable to reach health facilities due to the insecurity are now able to present to hospitals for medical assessment, and consideration for evacuation for health care,” the chief added, calling for more countries to take patients from Gaza and for medical evacuations to the occupied West Bank to be restored.
Gaza atrocities persist ‘despite all efforts’ from the international community, Erdogan says
Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza shows that the values defined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights “have been severely damaged”, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said.
In a statement carried by Turkiye’s state news agency Anadolu in commemoration of Human Rights Day, Erdogan contrasted Israel’s on-the-ground behaviour with the standards espoused in the declaration, which Israel has signed.
“The atrocities we face in Gaza and the occupied Palestinian territories unfortunately persist despite all the efforts of the international community,” the president said. “The path to a just and lasting peace in Gaza lies in strengthening the ceasefire – which was established with the contribution of our country – and in implementing the two-state solution model.”
“Increasing international pressure on Israel is critically important to prevent Gaza from being dragged back into conflict,” he added.
Turkiye has emerged as one of Israel’s most vocal critics, prompting Israel to insist it won’t accept Turkish forces as part of future peacekeeping efforts.
A general view of a camp for displaced Palestinians at the Islamic University following the resumption of classes during a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza City, on December 2, 2025. Israel has killed more than 70,000 Palestinians since launching its devastating war on Gaza in 2023
Gaza civil defence discovers mass grave at al-Shifa Hospital
Teams working with Gaza’s civil defence have found a mass grave within the grounds of al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, which Israel has attacked multiple times since October 2023.
The civil defence is working to recover more than 30 bodies from the site, it said in a Telegram post, part of a broader effort to retrieve an estimated total of about 300 bodies from across the Gaza Strip.
The post included video footage of heavy machinery moving white body bags from a huge pile of dirt and crews dragging them by hand to higher ground.
Two Palestinians killed in last 24 hours in Israeli strikes: Gaza Health Ministry
The Palestinian Health Ministry says two people have been killed in the Gaza Strip in Israeli attacks over the past day, along with five people wounded and transferred to local hospitals. Earlier a third body was recovered from the al-Waha area north of Gaza City.
Since the ceasefire took effect in October, Israeli forces have killed 379 Palestinians and wounded nearly 1,000 others, according to the health authorities. During the same period, Gaza authorities have been able to recover at least 627 bodies buried in debris.
