Türkiye working to evacuate 50 more patients from Gaza, says health minister

Türkiye said Tuesday that it prepared a list of 50 patients, mostly children, to evacuate from the Gaza Strip, where relentless Israeli attacks have taken place for 46 days.

After Türkiye received two groups of a total of 88 patients from the besieged Palestinian enclave in the past weeks, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said a third evacuation could happen in the coming days.

"The third evacuation may be carried out in the coming days," Koca told Turkish lawmakers at parliament in the capital Ankara, adding that the country's priority was "babies, children, and the injured."

"We are currently working on a list of 50 people, mainly children. I think this will be finalized in the coming days," he added

Koca said a coordination team with Israel, Egypt, and Türkiye was working on the third evacuation group, including on how much of Ankara's 50-person list can be brought through.

Noting that, along with the 88 patients, Türkiye had received a total of 150 people Gaza including 62 companions, he said six patients were receiving intensive care.

When asked about the evacuation of premature babies from Gaza, he said they were planning to first evacuate babies under 12 months old and toddlers and children up to 4 years old.

Israel has launched relentless air and ground attacks in the Gaza Strip following a cross-border attack by the Palestinian group Hamas on Oct. 7.

Authorities in Gaza said Monday that the death toll from the ongoing Israeli attacks on the enclave since Oct. 7 has jumped to over 13,300 including 5,600 children and 3,550 women.

The Israeli death toll, meanwhile, is around 1,200, according to official figures.