Belgium's rapid intervention service B-FAST carried out a second evacuation of young patients from Gaza on Wednesday. Together with their caretakers, the children were transferred to Belgium to receive the necessary care.
Due to the conflict in Gaza, hospitals there are no longer operational. There is a dire shortage of resources and medical equipment. Medical facilities have been destroyed. Aid workers and medical staff are not protected and cannot work.
"All this is in violation of international humanitarian law. The local population no longer has access to health care and necessary treatments cannot take place," the Foreign Affairs Ministry said in a press release.
A separate report by human rights organisation Amnesty International concluded on Thursday that Israel is "guilty of genocide" against the Palestinian people. For its part, Israel says that the report is untrue, based on lies and "anti-Semitic slander."
Humanitarian aid
At the end of November, B-FAST received a request to participate in a medical evacuation via the Civil Protection Mechanism of the European Union (UCPM). This request was analysed in detail by specialists from the FPS Public Health.
Thanks to the coordination of the EU and the World Health Organisation (WHO), as well as the commitment of B-FAST, the young patients were able to be evacuated from Gaza to Belgium.
They are currently being treated in local hospitals. The transport was provided by Romania under the coordination of the EU, which plays a key role in the organisation of such an emergency aid operation. Additionally, the operation was carried out in close cooperation with the National Crisis Centre and Fedasil and the Immigration Office.
A similar operation took place on 29 July 2024. These medical evacuation operations are part of a series of B-FAST operations in the region, including donations of essential goods. Belgium has been actively involved in providing humanitarian aid to the affected population since the beginning of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
