Western Nations Offer Aid to Treat Gaza Patients in West Bank, Urge Israel to Reopen Medical Corridor
On September 22, 2025, a coalition of Western nations called for the reopening of the medical corridor between Gaza and the Israeli-occupied West Bank. These nations offered to provide financial aid, medical staff, and equipment to treat patients from Gaza in the West Bank, addressing the urgent humanitarian disaster.
Joint Statement and Signatories
The appeal was made in a joint statement released by Canada, urging Israel to restore the medical corridor to the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem. This would allow medical evacuations from Gaza to resume, ensuring patients receive urgently needed treatment on Palestinian territory.
- Countries such as Austria, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, the European Union, and Poland were among the signatories.
- The United States was notably absent from the list of signatories.
Call for Unrestricted Aid Delivery
The statement further urged Israel to lift restrictions on the deliveries of medicine and medical equipment to Gaza. It emphasized the need to enable the UN and other humanitarian partners to carry out life-saving work, in line with international law and UN Security Council resolution 2286 (2016), ensuring the protection and safe passage of medical personnel.
Gaza's Humanitarian Crisis
Aid agencies reported that only a fraction of needed aid, including medicine, has reached people in Gaza since Israel lifted a blockade in May. The World Health Organisation stated in May that Gaza's health system is at a breaking point. Images of starving Palestinians have fueled global outrage over the situation. While Israel states it allows adequate aid, multiple sources report otherwise.
Context of the Conflict
The ongoing conflict has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths and displaced the entire population of Gaza, leading to a severe starvation crisis. While some consider the situation to be a genocide, Israel defends its actions as self-defense following the October 2023 attack by Hamas. Some key US allies have been pushing for a two-state solution at the United Nations.
