RAMALLAH, September 22, 2025 (WAFA) – Dozens of Western countries have called on Israel to reopen the medical corridor between Gaza and the occupied West Bank, offering financial aid, medical personnel, and equipment to treat patients from Gaza in the West Bank.
In a joint statement issued by Canada on Monday and reported by Reuters, the countries said:
“We strongly urge Israel to reopen the medical corridor to the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, so that medical evacuations from Gaza can resume and patients can access the urgent care they need.”
The 25 signatories to the statement, including Austria, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, the European Union, and Poland, all signed, but not the United States. The statement added: "We also urge Israel to lift restrictions on the delivery of medicines and medical equipment to Gaza."
Aid agencies have reported that critical aid, including medicines, has been scarce to Gaza residents since Israel lifted its aid blockade in May, while the World Health Organization has declared that Gaza's health system is on the brink of collapse. Israel controls all entrances to Gaza and says it allows sufficient food aid and supplies to enter.
Images of starving Palestinians, including children, have sparked global outrage over Israel's assault on Gaza, which has killed tens of thousands since October 2023, displaced the entire population of the territory, and triggered a famine crisis. Numerous human rights experts and researchers, as well as a UN commission of inquiry, say the assault amounts to genocide.
Some key US allies, most notably Britain and France, have endorsed Palestinian statehood at the United Nations as a path to a two-state solution, despite Washington's opposition.
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