The UN humanitarian agency, OCHA, has said that only 446 patients, including 266 children, have been medically evacuated outside Gaza since Israeli forces closed the Rafah crossing in May of last year, Al Jazeera reports.

It says a total of just more than 5,000 people were evacuated from Gaza since Israel launched its offensive on the enclave in October 2023.

More than 12,000 Palestinians are estimated to require urgent medical evacuation abroad, it added.