This comes a day after Israel once again ordered the evacuation of large areas within Gaza, citing rocket fire into its territory.
A patient is taken into Egypt from Gaza through the Rafah border crossing in 2023.
Step up evacuations: WHO
Also on Thursday, the Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) once again raised the alarm over the need for urgent medical evacuations from Gaza, noting that the pace remains excruciatingly slow.
Only 5,383 patients have been evacuated with support from WHO since October 2023, of which only 436 since the Rafah crossing was closed, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a statement posted on social media.
He said over 12,000 people still need medical evacuation.
“At this rate, it would take 5-10 years to evacuate all these critically ill patients, including thousands of children. In the meantime, their conditions get worse and some die,” he warned.
He reported that 55 patients and 72 companions were evacuated to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on 31 December.