WHO boss sounds alarm, says “situation in northern Gaza is catastrophic”
The World Health Organization (WHO) has sounded the alarm on the catastrophic situation unfolding in northern Gaza, where intense military operations by the Israeli forces are severely impacting healthcare facilities.
“The situation in northern Gaza is catastrophic,” Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on X, warning that “a critical shortage of medical supplies, compounded by severely limited access, are depriving people of life-saving care.”
He expressed worries over the situation at Kamal Adwan, northern Gaza’s last functioning hospital, which was stormed by Israeli forces on Friday, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry,
Tedros earlier noted that the Gaza Health Ministry had informed WHO, which had temporarily lost contact with its staff at the hospital amid the chaos, that the siege had ended.
No fewer than three health workers and another employee were injured in the raid and that dozens of health workers were detained at the hospital, where around 600 patients, health workers, and others were sheltering.
“Following the detention of 44 male staff members, only female staff, the hospital director, and one male doctor are left to care for nearly 200 patients in desperate need of medical attention,” Tedros said on Saturday.
“Reports of the hospital facilities and medical supplies being damaged or destroyed during the siege are deplorable,” he said.
He added that “The whole health system in Gaza has been under attack for over a year” since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attacks inside Israel last year sparked the war.
“WHO cannot stress loudly enough that hospitals must be shielded from conflict at all times,” Tedros said, stressing that “any attack of healthcare facilities is a violation of international humanitarian law”.
The WHO highlighted the urgent need for unconditional ceasefire calling it the only path to protect healthcare in Gaza from collapsing.
“The only path to safeguarding what remains of Gaza’s collapsing health care system is an immediate and unconditional ceasefire,” he said
Israel’s bloody campaign has killed 42,924 people in Gaza, the majority civilians, according to figures from the Hamas-run health ministry which the United Nations considers reliable.
