Portugal is among the countries that have yet to receive any patients from Gaza, despite appeals from the World Health Organization and Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF).
Data collected by MSF indicate that, as of October 21, European countries like Portugal, Germany, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Iceland, Austria, and the Netherlands have not received medical transfers from the Palestinian enclave. Similarly, Saudi Arabia, Mexico, South Africa, and Brazil have not accepted patients.
Conversely, Egypt has accepted the most patients from Gaza, with 3,995, followed by the United Arab Emirates (1,499), Qatar (970), Turkey (441), and Jordan (240).
Italy is the European country that has received the highest number of medical transfers, followed by Algeria (136), Tunisia (73), Oman (56), Romania (48), Spain (45), the United Kingdom (39), Norway (28), and France (27).
Belgium has received 14 patients, while Ireland welcomed 12, Greece 10, Switzerland seven, Malta four, and Canada, Japan, and Luxembourg two each. Australia has accepted one medical transfer.
Of the more than 15,600 patients awaiting medical transfers at the time of these reports, many suffered from complex trauma injuries caused by bullets and bombs, or life-threatening chronic diseases like cancer and kidney failure.
“These patients cannot wait for the healthcare system to be rebuilt—they need urgent care now. Between July 2024 and August 2025, at least 740 patients, including 137 children, died while waiting for medical transfers. These deaths were preventable—they were caused not only by hospitals being destroyed but also due to political inaction,” emphasized MSF’s international president, Javid Abdelmoneim, in the report.
He further denounced that “the Palestinians in Gaza are undergoing genocide” and declared the healthcare system to be in ruins.
“The Israeli forces have attacked hospitals, reducing them to rubble, killed, detained, and forcibly displaced medical professionals, and systematically blocked supplies from entering the Gaza Strip,” he added.
“The selective approach adopted by some recipient countries risks undermining the medical transfer’s purpose.”
Abdelmoneim pointed out that, while some countries like Egypt, Qatar, the UAE, Turkey, and Jordan have taken on part of the responsibility for medical transfers, others have done almost nothing. “This inaction is indefensible,” he criticized.
Since October 2023, 7,802 patients have been transferred from Gaza, according to a status report as of September 28 by the WHO. The organization indicated that, this month, only 14 out of 36 hospitals in Gaza were partially operating due to Israeli attacks.
Besides the inconsistency in medical transfer approvals by Israel, which blocks access to treatment even after countries are willing to receive patients, bureaucracy also presents a challenge. Processes must go through MSF, the WHO, and host countries, meaning any delays could be fatal.
“The selective approach adopted by some recipient countries risks undermining the medical transfer’s purpose. Many governments indicate they will only accept certain types of patients, often prioritizing children. Thus, adult or elderly patients, who make up as much as 75% of the waiting list, are being left behind. This is especially evident concerning young boys and men, who are overlooked but often the most vulnerable in conflict situations,” added MSF.
It should also be noted that, at the end of September, a resolution from PAN—approved with abstentions from PSD, Chega, and CDS—urged the Government to activate, “urgently, the diplomatic mechanisms and necessary steps for the reception of children from the Gaza Strip in urgent need of medical care.”
The resolution called for the provision of “adequate treatment for these children, additionally ensuring the reception of accompanying family members” through the National Health Service (SNS), and cooperation “with the European Union Civil Protection Mechanism and other international institutions to guarantee the safe and expedited transport of the aforementioned children.”
Notícias ao Minuto inquired with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs about the lack of response to the appeals from the WHO and MSF and is awaiting a response.
