Geneva: Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has raised concerns about the continuing humanitarian and health crisis in the Gaza Strip, despite a “fragile” ceasefire. He emphasized that the “needs remain immense,” with limited aid access hindering progress.
According to Kuwait News Agency, Ghebreyesus spoke at a press conference in Geneva, highlighting the lack of sufficient aid entering Gaza, which has resulted in no improvement in hunger levels. He pointed out the immediate threat to children’s lives from famine and disease, noting that over 600,000 people in Gaza are currently facing catastrophic food insecurity.
He reported that the aid reaching Gaza remains insufficient, with the daily number of trucks ranging between 200 and 300, compared to the target of 600 trucks daily. Many of these trucks are commercial, which residents struggle to benefit from due to their inability to purchase goods. He condemned the continued ceasefire violations, stating that WHO has recorded 89 new deaths and 317 new injuries since the ceasefire’s announcement, based on data from health authorities in the Gaza Strip.
Ghebreyesus criticized Israeli occupation forces for severely limiting patient evacuations, which he argued could have been significantly beneficial. He revealed that Israeli forces allow only one operation per week and halt evacuations for two weeks during holidays. Ghebreyesus called for the opening of the Rafah crossing and all closed crossings to facilitate patient transfers and expand humanitarian aid delivery. He announced that the organization conducted the first medical evacuation operation out of the Strip since the ceasefire, but noted that 15,000 other patients, including 4,000 children, require treatment outside Gaza.
He warned of the risk of death for many patients and injured individuals due to the disruption of evacuation operations, noting that over 700 people have died while awaiting medical evacuation. He urged countries to receive more patients and called on Israeli authorities to allow medical evacuation to East Jerusalem and the West Bank.
Ghebreyesus added that over 170,000 people have been injured in Gaza since the start of the aggression, with more than 42,000 suffering from life-changing injuries. Additionally, nearly 4,000 women give birth each month in unsafe conditions, as no fully functioning hospital exists in the Strip due to destruction and severe shortages of medicines, equipment, and health workers.
He concluded that the full reconstruction of Gaza’s health system is estimated to cost at least seven billion dollars. The WHO has announced a 60-day health response plan for Gaza, valued at 45 million dollars.