EU’s first medical evacuation operation of Palestinians transfers children from Egypt to Spain

In response to the activation of the EU Civil Protection Mechanism by the WHO, the EU has been fully supporting the coordination of the activities to medically evacuate Palestinian patients to Europe. The request concerns targeted medical evacuations for a number of children in urgent need of medical care.

So far, Belgium, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, Romania, Slovakia and Spain offered assistance for medical evacuations, including treatment for patients as well as transportation.

The Emergency Response Coordination Centre (ERCC), in coordination with EU health and consular services, as well as respective EU Delegations, is in contact with the Member States, WHO and all relevant partners to facilitate these operations which are expected to continue in the coming weeks.

Since the beginning of the crisis, the EU has been a strong supporter of the health response in Gaza through its humanitarian partners. In 2024, 23% of the EU’s humanitarian budget has been allocated to issues related to health in Gaza, amounting to €32.5 million.  Since early January, the EU has also been supporting the WHO’s Gaza Emergency Medical Team Coordination Cell in Cairo with 22 experts deployed from the EU and the EU Civil Protection Mechanism’s participating countries.