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AMMAN — Amid worsening conditions in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, Jordan’s Royal Medical Services (RMS) have significantly scaled up operations to support Palestinian civilians facing a mounting healthcare emergency. The expansion includes field hospitals, surgical teams, and the medical evacuation of vulnerable patients to Jordan, particularly children.
“These efforts are not political,” said Brigadier General Dr Ahmed Subaihat in an interview with The Jordan Times. “They are medical, humanitarian responses to people in urgent need. Our teams go where the care is needed most.”
The initiative, operating under the directives of His Majesty King Abdullah, is part of Jordan’s long-standing policy of humanitarian assistance to Palestinians. While RMS operates independently, its efforts complement broader international humanitarian responses led by organisations such as the World Health Organisation and the International Committee of the Red Cross.
Expansion of hospital network
RMS currently runs five hospitals across the Palestinian territories. Ramallah Hospital, opened in 2000, and Jenin Hospital, launched in 2002, have each served more than one million patients.
A third hospital was opened in 2009 in the Tel al-Hawa neighbourhood of Gaza, where over 3.5 million people have received care. In response to the war that escalated after 7 October 2023, RMS opened two more facilities: one in Khan Younis in southern Gaza and another in Nablus in the northern West Bank.
Over the past 20 months, the Khan Younis hospital has recorded more than 280,000 patient visits, while Nablus has seen over 180,000, according to RMS data.
All five hospitals offer a wide range of services, including orthopaedic surgery, paediatrics, obstetrics and gynaecology, and emergency medicine. Staff rotate every three months from Jordan’s military medical institutions.
The Khan Younis facility alone has conducted more than 23,000 surgical procedures since opening, including trauma operations and emergency caesarean sections. An additional 26,000 surgeries have taken place at the Nablus and Tel Al Hawa hospitals.
“Operations are happening around the clock,” Subaihat said, adding, “We’re dealing with amputations, burns, fractures, shrapnel wounds. It’s intense, but our teams are trained for these conditions.”
He added that the field hospitals are equipped with multiple operating theatres and critical care units to handle the continuous flow of cases.
Medical evacuations to Jordan
When care is not possible locally, particularly for complex paediatric cases, patients are evacuated to Jordan for treatment. Since October, RMS has facilitated six medical evacuations, involving 81 children and 175 accompanying relatives.
“These are among the most serious cases, cancer, neurological disorders, multiple traumas,” Al-Subaihat said. “We prioritise based on medical urgency.”
Patients are admitted to a network of hospitals in Jordan, including the King Hussein Medical City, the King Hussein Cancer Centre, and Ministry of Health and private facilities. The latest evacuation, in late June, involved 24 children and 54 companions.
Local medical teams in Gaza assess patients and coordinate directly with RMS field command to prepare for transport. “We classify each case—who needs intensive care, a stretcher, or can be moved safely by ambulance,” he explained.
All services, including treatment, transportation, accommodation, and follow-up care, are provided free of charge.
Amputee care and prosthetic clinics
In response to the rising number of civilian amputees, RMS deployed two mobile prosthetics units in Gaza. Staffed by technicians and physiotherapists, the clinics have so far fitted 525 artificial limbs on-site.
“One of the most difficult cases was a six-year-old girl from Gaza,” said Al-Subaihat. “She lost all four limbs. We flew her to Amman, fitted her with prosthetics at Queen Rania Hospital, and supported her through rehabilitation. When she smiled and walked for the first time on her new legs—it stayed with the whole team.”
Continuing mission
All RMS medical staff in Gaza are drawn from Jordan’s military hospitals and serve on rotating deployment. Despite the high workload, Al-Subaihat said operations will continue as long as necessary.
“We’ll keep going as long as it’s needed,” he said. “This isn’t about headlines. It’s about saving lives and relieving suffering, especially in places where healthcare has collapsed.”
