An “inhumane” health and humanitarian situation now prevails
across Gaza with conditions continuing to deteriorate, the head
of the UN World Health Organization warned on Wednesday.
“Gaza has become a death zone,” Tedros Adhanom
Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General
told correspondents at a press briefing in Geneva.
“Much of the territory has been destroyed. More than 29,000
people are dead; many more are missing, presumed dead; and many,
many more are injured,” he added.
Across the war-ravaged Gaza Strip, severe malnutrition has shot
up dramatically since the start of the war on 7 October, from
under one per cent of the population, to over 15 per cent in some
areas.
“This figure will rise the longer the war goes on and supplies
[are] interrupted,” Tedros said, expressing deep concern that
agencies such as the World Food Programme (WFP) are unable to
access the north.
WFP suspended its aid deliveries there due to lack of security
for both humanitarian personnel and those seeking assistance.
Medical charity attacked
The war has taken a severe toll on aid workers, with hundreds
reported killed.
A Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) shelter was shelled Tuesday
night (local time), injuring staff and killing members of their
family.
UN Emergency Relief Coordinator, Martin Griffiths, said he was
appalled by the attack, adding that he stood with them in their
grief.
“Humanitarians are putting their lives on the line. Like all
civilians, they must be protected,” he added, in a post on X, formerly
Twitter.
‘What world do we live in’
WHO chief Tedros reiterated the grave risks for humanitarians and
the need to ensure they are protected.
“What type of world do we live when people cannot get food and
water, and when people who cannot even walk are unable to receive
care?”, he lamented.
“What type of world do we live in when health workers are at risk
of being bombed as they carry out their life saving work [and]
hospitals must close because there is no more power or medicines
to help save patients?”
He underscored the need for an immediate ceasefire, for hostages
to be released, the guns to fall silent, and unfettered
humanitarian access.
“Humanity must prevail,” Tedros said.
Hospital evacuations
Over the past three days the UN health agency and partners
carried out several emergency missions to the Nasser medical
complex in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, to evacuate critically ill
patients, including children.
“With the intensive care units no longer working, WHO helped move
patients, many of whom cannot even walk,” Tedros said.
Around 130 sick and injured patients and at least 15 doctors and
nurses remain in the hospital, amidst ongoing Israeli military
operations, no electricity and running water and dwindling
lifesaving medical supplies.
Implement ‘long overdue’ measures
Also on Wednesday, UN independent human rights
experts called on Israel to
urgently implement an immediate ceasefire and concrete
humanitarian measures, with a particular focus on the needs of
Palestinian women and girls.
Citing the International Court of Justice (ICJ)’s 26 January ruling,
the experts underscored the pressing issues of disrupted
schooling, destruction of homes, limited access to healthcare and
heightened risks faced by women and girls in Gaza and the West
Bank, including gender-based violence.
With increasingly limited access to treatment, the experts
demanded an end to Israeli forces’ attacks on hospitals,
emphasizing the need for gender-responsive measures to address
the urgent needs of the vulnerable.
They specifically called for the establishment of a field
hospital, facilitation of aid delivery, prioritization of
menstrual hygiene products, building additional shelters and
schools and providing safe spaces for survivors of gender-based
violence.
“Implementing these measures would be a long overdue
demonstration that Israel cares about the protection of civilians
and respects their human rights,” they said.
Appointed by the UN Human Rights Council to
monitor key human rights issues, the experts are independent of
the UN or any government, serve in their individual capacities
and draw no salary for their work.
