GAZA, April 12 (Xinhua) -- Medical evacuations from the Gaza Strip resumed Sunday through the Rafah border crossing with Egypt, after the World Health Organization (WHO) suspended operations days earlier following the killing of a Palestinian WHO worker in Israeli fire.

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society said its teams transferred patients and wounded people through the crossing in coordination with the WHO and relevant authorities.

It said 27 patients and 42 companions were evacuated. They were transported by ambulance from the Medical Rehabilitation Hospital in Khan Younis in southern Gaza to Rafah for onward travel abroad for treatment.

The group described the operation as a humanitarian effort aimed at easing pressure on Gaza's strained health system.

The WHO suspended evacuations on April 6 after one of its Palestinian staff members was killed. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at the time that evacuations of sick and wounded Palestinians from Gaza to Egypt via Rafah were halted until further notice.

"We call for the protection of civilians and humanitarian workers," he added.

Since the crossing reopened on Feb. 2, the WHO has been coordinating with Israeli authorities on the lists and numbers of patients eligible for evacuation. Transfers have typically been organized from Khan Younis to Rafah before patients cross into Egypt.

The Rafah crossing is the only land route for Gaza residents to leave the territory without passing through Israel. ■