(NewsNation) — Israeli authorities say 68 people — 19 sick or wounded children plus their companions — have been allowed out of the Gaza Strip and into Egypt in the first medical evacuation since early May, but thousands of children remain lost, traumatized or in critical condition in Gaza.
Pediatric ICU Dr. Tanya Haj-Hassan with Doctors Without Borders joins “Morning in America” to discuss the growing humanitarian crisis in Gaza, saying doctors on the ground are no longer surprised by the tragedies they are witnessing.
“Most access to Gaza has been cut off by Israel. We have been unable to cross the Rafah crossing now for for a couple of months, that crossing has been destroyed. The infrastructure has been destroyed by Israeli forces, and we are essentially at the mercy of what Israel will and will not let in or out in terms of both humanitarian aid and patients that need evacuation,” Haj-Hassan said.
The Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt, the only path available for people to travel in or out, shut down after Israeli forces captured it during their operation in the city early last month. Egypt has refused to reopen its side of the crossing until the Gaza side is returned to Palestinian control.
“Every crime Israel commits is more egregious than the last, so nothing they do shocks us anymore. Especially since there are no consequences,” Haj-Hassan told NewsNation. “Colleagues at the hospital where I was based tell me that even in the last three months, they said things are so much worse than what they were when you were here last. They’ve described scenes of carnage as those of Judgment Day.”
At a press conference at Nasser Hospital on Thursday, Dr. Mohammed Zaqout, the head of Gaza’s hospitals, said the evacuation was being conducted in coordination with the WHO and three American charities.
Zaqout said over 25,000 patients in Gaza require treatment abroad, including some 980 children with cancer, a quarter of whom need “urgent and immediate evacuation.”
In addition, new reporting indicates as many as 21,000 children are missing or separated from their families in Gaza.
“You don’t know where those children are. I think the report describes them potentially trapped under the rubble, buried in mass graves, unaccompanied from their families. There are multiple ways these children can be ‘missing,’ but all of them are very horrifying places for your imagination to go. I’m not surprised by that figure, even if it was gut-wrenching to see it on paper,” Haj-Hassan said.
Israel’s offensive against Hamas, which runs the Gaza Strip, has killed over 37,700 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not differentiate between civilians and fighters in its count. Thousands of women and children are among the dead.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.