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.