Senators reiterate call made to Amb. Herzog—More than 14,000 need urgent medical evacuation, including thousands of children

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The readout below is attributable to Aaron White, Director of Communications for Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.): 

This afternoon in his Capitol Hill office, Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.) and Senators Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), and Cory Booker (D-N.J.) met with Motaz Zahran, Egyptian Ambassador to the United States, about the dire need to facilitate safe passage out of Gaza to neighboring countries for critically ill and injured children and their guardians. An estimated 14,000, including thousands of children, have life-threatening medical needs that cannot be met by Gaza’s collapsing health care infrastructure.  

The Rafah crossing to Egypt, which is a critical path for medical evacuations and aid delivery, has been closed for six months since it was seized by the Israeli military. According to reports, Egyptian officials are negotiating terms for the reopening of the Rafah crossing.  

This meeting was requested by the Senators in a July 2024 letter to Amb. Motaz Zahran, and Amb. Michael Herzog, Israeli Ambassador to the United States. The Senators urged the governments of Israel and Egypt to cooperate and work together to evacuate children in medical distress.  

Recently, Senator Welch convened a group of Senators for a meeting with Michael Herzog, Israeli Ambassador to the United States, and urged the Netanyahu government to expedite the evacuation of ill and injured children and others with complex medical needs, and to facilitate access to Gaza for foreign medical personnel.  

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