Situation in northern Gaza 'catastrophic': WHO
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The WHO chief called the destruction and damage of facilities and medical supplies "deplorable," adding that "the whole health system in Gaza has been under attack for over a year."
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An ambulance vehicle was destroyed at the Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip on October 26, 2024. (AFP)
The chief of the World Health Organization cautioned on Saturday about a dire situation in the northern region of the war-torn Gaza Strip, where "intensive military operations are unfolding around and within healthcare facilities."
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus wrote on X that the situation was "catastrophic," detailing "a critical shortage of medical supplies, compounded by severely limited access, are depriving people of life-saving care."
Israeli occupation forces detained all-male medical staff at Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza, in addition to a number of wounded and patients present inside the hospital. They also locked women in one of the rooms inside the hospital without providing them with food or water, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.
The Ministry appealed to all international and UN institutions, as well as relevant parties, for urgent intervention to protect the patients and medical staff working inside the hospital.
The occupation forces also set ablaze shelters for displaced refugees around the hospital.
The IOF also detained hundreds of workers, patients, and displaced in their raids.
Tedros said Saturday that the Gaza health ministry had notified WHO, which had briefly lost communication with its hospital workers, that the Israeli siege was over.
Since this morning’s reports of a raid of Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern #Gaza, we have lost touch with the personnel there. This development is deeply disturbing given the number of patients being served and people sheltering there.
— Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (@DrTedros) October 25, 2024
Prior to this, @WHO and partners managed to… pic.twitter.com/KL5ElhoQia
He noted however that it "came at a heavy cost," reporting that three health professionals and another employee were injured in the assault, and that scores of health workers were held at the facility, which was housing over 600 patients, health workers, and others.
Following the detention of 44 male staff members, only female staff, the hospital director, and one male doctor are left to care for nearly 200 patients in desperate need of medical attention," Tedros revealed.
He called the destruction and damage of facilities and medical supplies "deplorable," adding that "the whole health system in Gaza has been under attack for over a year."
"WHO cannot stress loudly enough that hospitals must be shielded from conflict at all times," Tedros stated, insisting that "any attack on healthcare facilities is a violation of international humanitarian law."
He urged that the only viable path to save Gaza's healthcare system is a lasting and "unconditional ceasefire."
'Israel' kills two children amid hospital siege, oxygen station strike
Gaza's Health Ministry reported that two Palestinian children died at the last operational hospital in the northern part of the territory following an Israeli raid on the facility.
In a statement released Friday evening, the Ministry confirmed that the two children, who were in the intensive care unit, passed away after the generators at Kamal Adwan Hospital stopped working and Israeli forces targeted the hospital's oxygen station.
"Two children have died in the intensive care unit after the hospital's generators failed and the oxygen station was targeted," the statement read. The Ministry further stated that Israeli forces "are searching the hospital and shooting inside the various departments."
Additionally, the statement highlighted the destruction of three ambulances and a transport vehicle, severely disrupting relief and evacuation efforts.
"The solar-powered electricity system has also been destroyed, exacerbating the crisis," the Ministry stressed.
According to the Health Ministry, 195 patients and wounded individuals are currently at the hospital, alongside 70 medical staff. The statement also confirmed that three nurses and a cleaner were injured during the attack.
Furthermore, the Ministry reported that around 600 people were inside the hospital, many of whom were detained by invading Israeli forces.
