Gaza hospitals 'completely overwhelmed': WHO
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Rik Peeperkorn, the WHO's representative for Palestine condemned the "shrinking humanitarian space" in the Gaza Strip and accused "Israel" of impeding assistance delivery.
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People inspect the damage in a room following Israeli bombardment at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip on December 17, 2023 (AP)
The World Health Organization bemoaned on Wednesday that "Israel" has allowed fewer than half of its requested aid-delivery missions in Gaza, emphasizing the need to reach and resupply wrecked hospitals throughout the enclave.
Rik Peeperkorn, the WHO's representative for Palestine expressed the hospitals were "completely overwhelmed and overflowing and undersupplied."
In a video call from Rafah, he explained to reporters how patients were routinely subjected to needless limb amputations that may have been prevented under normal conditions.
He condemned the "shrinking humanitarian space" in the Gaza Strip and accused "Israel" of impeding assistance delivery, revealing that barely 40% of the operations required by WHO to transport aid to northern Gaza have been completed, he claimed.
In southern Gaza, only 45% of missions have been completed, calling it "absurd" that such missions have been "denied, impeded or postponed."
Read more: In systematic starvation policy, Smotrich blocks flour entry to Gaza
"Even when there is no ceasefire, humanitarian corridors should exist so WHO, UN and their partners can do their job."
The UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths cautioned that a military offensive in Rafah poses a grave risk of leading to a "slaughter in Gaza" and jeopardizing a "fragile humanitarian operation at death’s door."
Griffiths emphasized that the apprehended scenario is unfolding rapidly and alarmingly. He reiterated that over 1 million people, constituting more than half of Gaza's population, are concentrated in Rafah, facing imminent death with severe shortages of food, limited access to medical assistance, and a lack of safe shelter.
The scenario we have long dreaded is unraveling at alarming speed.
— Martin Griffiths (@UNReliefChief) February 13, 2024
Today, I’m sounding the alarm once again: Military operations in Rafah could lead to a slaughter in Gaza. They could also leave an already fragile humanitarian operation at death’s door.https://t.co/oXpMNkVx75 pic.twitter.com/rUNfCGRIDK
The entire Gaza population, including those in Rafah, is enduring an unprecedented assault marked by its intensity, brutality, and extensive reach, as per Griffiths.
He further stated that over 28,000 Palestinians were reportedly killed, with the majority being women and children, as a result of Israeli aggression, as per Gaza's Ministry of Health.
The global community has consistently cautioned about the perilous repercussions of a ground invasion in Rafah, he said, adding, "The Government of Israel cannot continue to ignore these calls."
"History will not be kind; this war must end," he concluded by saying.
