Hassan is just 18, but he’s already facing the kind of struggle no one should have to endure. Over two months ago, he was shot in the head while searching for food in Gaza. The injury caused a brain hemorrhage, forcing doctors to remove part of his skull. An infection later stole the sight from his right eye. Now, lying in a hospital bed in Khan Younis, Hassan is motionless, his eyes covered with bandages.
His father, Ibrahim Qlob, is holding onto hope. “The Rafah crossing is our lifeline,” he said from Nasser Hospital. “One day passing for me feels like a year.”
Hassan is just one of tens of thousands of Palestinians waiting for medical help. According to the World Health Organization, about 15,600 patients in Gaza need to be evacuated for treatment, including nearly 3,800 children. Many suffer from injuries sustained during the conflict, while others have chronic illnesses like cancer or heart disease-conditions that Gaza’s crippled health system cannot handle.
The Rafah border, previously a route for patients to leave Gaza through Egypt, is set to reopen soon. Sources say people may begin crossing on Thursday, though Israel’s COGAT, the military body in charge of aid flows, says the official date will be announced later. Over 7,000 patients were evacuated during the conflict, with Egypt taking about half. But when Rafah was closed in May 2024, and Israel took control, the flow of patients slowed drastically. Since a ceasefire collapsed in March, fewer than four patients have been able to leave each day-meaning it could take more than a decade to evacuate everyone currently waiting.
Doctors and aid workers say the situation is dire. “We need more countries to accept patients from Gaza, and all medical evacuation routes restored,” said WHO spokesperson Tarik Jasarevic.
For people like Mohammed Abu Nasser, 32, the wait has been painful and exhausting. He survived an Israeli strike that badly injured both his legs and has been on the waiting list for over a year. “My condition is getting worse every day,” he said from al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza City.
Tragically, hundreds of patients have already died while waiting. The WHO reports that 740 people, including 137 children, have passed away since July 2024. One was Jana Ayad, a young girl who died from severe malnutrition in September. Médecins Sans Frontières says 19 of its patients on the list also died during the conflict, including 12 children.
“The mortality rate is rising, which is heartbreaking but expected given the collapse of health services,” said Kate Takes, a solicitor with the UK charity Children Not Numbers.
For Hassan, time is critical. His malnutrition is worsening, and he now weighs just 40 kilograms less than half of what he weighed before. Every passing day is a race against his body’s decline, and his family is praying that the reopening of Rafah finally brings him the care he desperately needs.
