World Health Organization has reacted over recent reports of airstrike in the vicinity of Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza as many health workers were in contact with have been forced to leave the hospital in search of safety.
WHO Director-General who disclosed on his Twitter (X) handle on Friday said many of thousands sheltering at the hospital are forced to evacuate due to security risks, while many still remain there.
He revealed that since the 7th of October the beginning of war, WHO has verified over 250 attacks on health care in Gaza and the West Bank, also documented 5 attacks on 5 hospitals in one day in Gaza last week.
The DG stated that in the past 48 hours alone, 4 hospitals have been put out of action. “WHO is very concerned about the safety of patients, health workers and those sheltering in hospitals. They need immediate protection”.
Ghebreyesus said he understand the anger, grief and fear of the Israeli people following the horrific, barbaric and unjustifiable attacks by Hamas and other armed groups on Israeli civilians on the 7th of October.
“The killing of 1,400 people, and injuries to more than 7,200 others, is bad enough. For the survivors and families of victims, the mental health consequences will endure for a long time to come.
“WHO is gravely concerned for the health and well-being of Israeli hostages in Gaza, many of whom are older people, children and those with urgent medical needs”.
In his earlier remarks at the UN Security Council meeting, WHO DG said he also understand the anger, grief and fear of the people of Gaza, who had already suffered through 16 years of blockade, and are now enduring the destruction of their families, their homes, their communities and the life they knew.
He said the situation on the ground is impossible to describe. “Hospital corridors crammed with the injured, the sick, the dying;
Morgues overflowing; Surgery without anaesthesia; Tens of thousands of displaced people sheltering at hospitals;
“Families crammed into overcrowded schools, desperate for food and water. More than 10,800 people have now been killed in Gaza, almost 70% of them women and children. On average, a child is killed every 10 minutes in Gaza.
“1.5 million people have been displaced, and are looking for shelter anywhere they can find it. But nowhere and no-one is safe. As more and more people move to a smaller and smaller space, overcrowding is increasing the risks of outbreaks of diarrheal and respiratory disease and skin infections.
“WHO is on the ground in Gaza, alongside our partners, to support health workers, who are physically and mentally exhausted and are doing their best in unimaginable conditions.
“In addition to caring for the 27 thousand people who are wounded, many of them with life-threatening injuries, they are trying to manage the regular health needs of more than 2 million people”, he explained.
He called for unfettered access to deliver humanitarian aid to the civilians of Gaza, who are not responsible for this violence, but are suffering in ways that we in this room cannot imagine. “We continue to call on Hamas to release the hostages it took, many of whom need urgent medical attention.
“We continue to call on Israel to restore supplies of electricity, water and fuel. We continue to call on both sides to abide by obligations under international humanitarian law. And we continue to call for a ceasefire, to prevent further deaths of civilians and further damage to Gaza’s hospitals and health facilities”.