WHO urges unrestricted access as ceasefire takes full effects

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus looks on during a press conference with the Association of Accredited Correspondents at the United Nations (ACANU) at the World Health Organization's headquarters in Geneva, on December 10, 2024. (Photo by Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP) (Photo by FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP via Getty Images)
The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared its readiness to deliver critical humanitarian aid to Gaza amid the truce between Israel and Hamas.
However, the agency has stressed that effective relief efforts hinge on achieving “systematic access” to all parts of the territory.
Gaza’s health system has been devastated by more than a year of conflict, with the WHO reporting that “only half of Gaza’s 36 hospitals remain partially operational, nearly all hospitals are damaged or partly destroyed, and just 38 percent of primary health care centers are functional.”
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus expressed optimism over the ceasefire, stating it would “bring great hope for millions of people whose lives have been ravaged by the conflict.”
Nevertheless, he acknowledged that “addressing the massive health needs and restoring the health system in Gaza will be a complex and challenging task, given the scale of destruction, operational complexity and constraints involved.”
The Geneva-based organization has estimated the cost of rebuilding Gaza’s health infrastructure at over $10 billion.
This funding is vital to tackling what the WHO describes as “immense health challenges ahead.” An estimated 12,000 people require evacuation for urgent medical care, while a quarter of the injured—over 110,000 people—face long-term rehabilitation needs.
The WHO emphasized in a statement that “it is critical that the security obstacles hindering operations are removed” and called for the lifting of restrictions on aid delivery.