WHO urgently calls on global community to address critical threat to Gaza's population

The Director-General of the World Health Organisation (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, has urged the global community to take immediate actions to address the serious threat facing the population of Gaza.

This peril not only threatens the lives of the people in Gaza but also poses a significant challenge to the ability of humanitarian workers to assist those suffering from severe injuries, acute hunger, and a high risk of disease.

According to WHO, Gaza currently has 13 partially functioning hospitals, two hospitals with minimal functionality, and 21 hospitals that are completely non-functional.

In its most recent high-risk mission, WHO teams visited two hospitals in Gaza including Al-Shifa in the north and Al-Amal Palestine Red Crescent Society in the south to deliver essential supplies and evaluate the urgent needs on the ground.

In a statement, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said, “WHO’s ability to supply medicines, medical supplies, and fuel to hospitals is being increasingly constrained by the hunger and desperation of people en route to, and within, hospitals we reach.”

Read: Gaza death toll surpasses 21,300 amid Israeli attacks

The recent United Nations Security Council resolution appeared to provide hope of an improvement in humanitarian aid distribution within Gaza, the WHO Director-General added. “However, based on WHO eyewitness accounts on the ground, the resolution is tragically yet to have an impact.”

“What we urgently need right now is a ceasefire to spare civilians from further violence and begin the long road towards reconstruction and peace,” he said.

It comes after he confirmed on Sunday that more than 449 attacks on health services in Gaza and the West Bank since 7 October.

Speaking at a special session organised by the WHO executive board on the health situation in the occupied Palestinian territories, Tedros emphasised the catastrophic impact of conflicts on the health situation in Gaza, reported Anadolu Agency.

Israel has killed 8,800 children alongside 6,300 women since the offensive on Gaza started on 7 October, according to the Gaza media office.