“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 October 7, from under 1% of the population, to over 15% 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 a 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.
Appalled that a @MSF shelter in #Gaza was shelled last night, injuring staff and killing members of their family. I stand with them in their grief.
AdvertisementHumanitarians are putting their lives on the line. Like all civilians, they must be protected.
— Martin Griffiths (@UNReliefChief) February 21, 2024
Advertisement
‘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.
#Gaza: “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?” – @WHO chief, Tedros Ghebreyesus pic.twitter.com/5jvKyx8lBm
— UN News (@UN_News_Centre) February 21, 2024
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 January 26 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.
Gazans ‘hanging by a thread’, warns WFP
In a statement, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) said it has reluctantly had to pause aid deliveries to north Gaza until conditions are in place that allow for safe distributions.
“The decision to pause deliveries to the north of the Gaza Strip has not been taken lightly, as we know it means the situation there will deteriorate further and more people risk dying of hunger,” the agency said.
It added that it is “deeply committed” to urgently reaching desperate people across the war-torn enclave “but the safety and security to deliver critical food aid – and for the people receiving it – must be ensured”.
In December, the UN and humanitarian partners had warned of the risk of famine in northern Gaza by May unless conditions there improved decisively.
The situation is particularly dire for children, pregnant women and new mothers, with one in six children acutely malnourished.
‘Facing gunfire and explosive anger’
WFP said that its deliveries to northern Gaza had resumed on Sunday after a three-week suspension following the strike on an UN Palestine relief agency (UNRWA) truck and due to the absence of a functioning humanitarian notification system.
#Gaza: “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?” – @WHO chief, Tedros Ghebreyesus pic.twitter.com/5jvKyx8lBm
— UN News (@UN_News_Centre) February 21, 2024
On Sunday, as one of its convoys moved towards Gaza City, it was surrounded by crowds of hungry people close to the Wadi Gaza checkpoint.
“First fending off multiple attempts by people trying to climb aboard our trucks, then facing gunfire once we entered Gaza City, our team was able to distribute a small quantity of the food along the way,” the UN agency said.
On Monday, the second convoy’s journey north faced “complete chaos and violence” due to the collapse of civil order, WFP added, noting that several trucks were looted between Khan Younis and Deir al Balah and a truck driver was beaten.
“The remaining flour was spontaneously distributed off the trucks in Gaza city, amidst high tension and explosive anger.”
Urgent effort to restore aid
In the statement, WFP emphasized that it will seek ways to resume deliveries in a responsible manner as soon as possible.
It underscored the need “significantly” higher volumes of food coming into the Gaza Strip from multiple routes, and for crossing points to the north of Gaza to be open.
“A functioning humanitarian notification system and a stable communication network are needed. And security, for our staff and partners as well as for the people we serve, must be facilitated,” the agency said.
“Gaza is hanging by a thread and WFP must be enabled to reverse the path towards famine for thousands of desperately hungry people.”
Evacuations from Nasser Hospital
Meanwhile, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) continued evacuating patients from the Nasser hospital complex in Khan Younis, amid continuing Israeli military operations and access restrictions.
The health agency led two successful missions, evacuating 32 critical patients, including two children, from the complex on Sunday and Monday.
The high-risk missions were conducted in close partnership with the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) and the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
The situation at the hospital continues to remain dire.
It has no electricity or running water, and medical waste and garbage are creating a breeding ground for disease., WHO said.
Staff said the destruction around the hospital was “indescribable”, noting that the area was surrounded by burnt and destroyed buildings, heavy layers of debris, with no road accessible roads.
These articles (WHO chief statement and World Food Programme statement) were originally published by UN News.
