The director of the UN health monitor says it is “impossible to describe” the situation in the Palestinian enclave.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the head of the World Health Organisation (WHO), told the UN Security Council on Friday that the ongoing Israeli military campaign in Gaza has severely damaged the Palestinian enclave’s healthcare system and caused significant casualties among the civilian population, including children.
According to Ghebreyesus, the medical system in Gaza is “on its knees,” and since the Israeli operation began on October 7, the WHO has documented more than 250 strikes on the healthcare system in Gaza and the West Bank, including medical institutions, ambulances, and patients. He said that within the same time period, there were reports of 25 strikes in Israel on targets related to healthcare.
The WHO director claimed that the situation in the Palestinian enclave is “impossible to describe” and that almost 1.5 million people were forced to flee their homes, with tens of thousands of them being forced to take refuge in packed hospitals and schools.
According to Ghebreyesus, people are seeking refuge “anywhere they can find it” and “nowhere and no one is safe” in Gaza. Over 10,800 people have died in Gaza as a result of Israeli bombings, airstrikes, and the ongoing military assault, according to Ghebreyesus. He said that women and children made up the majority of those slain.
A startling fact was also shared by the head of WHO: “In Gaza, a child dies on average every ten minutes.”
Israel insisted that it was working to resolve the Palestinian enclave’s humanitarian situation. Gilad Erdan, the country’s ambassador to the UN, informed the Security Council on Friday that his country has established a special task force to build hospitals in the enclave’s southern region.
The ambassador said, “Israel is in advanced talks regarding the establishment of field hospitals and floating hospital ships with the United Arab Emirates, the ICRC, and other European countries.” West Jerusalem has also “facilitated the Jordanian airdrop of medical aid to hospitals in northern Gaza.”
Erdan went on to say that Israel was purportedly helping Gaza more than the WHO or any other UN agency.
The principal ally of West Jerusalem, Washington, acknowledged on Friday that the Israeli actions had caused a great deal of casualties in Gaza. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Friday that “far too many” Palestinians had perished as a result of Israel’s retaliatory attack against the Islamist Hamas organisation, which is based in Gaza. The US has been attempting to persuade Israel to implement extended “humanitarian pauses,” specifically to make it easier to send humanitarian aid to the enclave.
