WHO cancels sixth aid mission to Gaza over intense bombardment
3 Min Read
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stated that "Intense bombardment, restrictions on movement, fuel shortage and interrupted communications make it impossible for WHO" and other aid organizations to reach those in need in Gaza.
-
Palestinians collect bags of dried pulses from a UN-run aid supply center in Deir al-Balah on October 28, 2023 (AFP)
The World Health Organization delayed another scheduled medical assistance mission to Gaza on Wednesday because of security concerns, making it the sixth such postponement in two weeks.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus announced that the cancelation was because mission requests had not been granted or security guarantees had not been provided since its previous visit on December 26.
Addressing a virtual press conference, the director-general expressed that "Intense bombardment, restrictions on movement, fuel shortage and interrupted communications make it impossible for WHO and our partners to reach those in need."
WHO director-general added that the organization called on the Israeli occupation to approve the requests of the WHO and other partners to ensure the delivery of aid.
He also expressed hope that a WHO mission scheduled for Thursday to northern Gaza will be able to proceed. However, he said that around 16 or 17 of the United Nations' 21 planned missions have already been canceled this month.
Ashraf Al-Qudra, the spokesperson for the Ministry of Health in Gaza, announced in an interview with Al Mayadeen today, that the Israeli occupation is sentencing 800,000 people to death in the northern Gaza Strip as a result of the ongoing Israeli bombing, amid a collapsing health sector and absence of medical aid.
He stated that the cases being seen by the medical team are a direct result of the occupation's use of internationally banned non-conventional weapons.
Famine in Gaza 'turning children into skeletons': Reports
According to The Telegraph, the UN has declared that food insecurity is now affecting the whole population of 2.3 million in Gaza, with half a million facing ‘catastrophic conditions’ which means people are experiencing “extreme food gaps and collapse of their livelihood”.
"Israel's" use of starvation as a weapon of war has resulted in an alarming situation where the vast majority of people worldwide experiencing famine are located in Gaza, as indicated by a recent report by the UN-backed Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), Truthout highlighted.
Humanitarian workers in Gaza have reported that some are going up to 3 days without food.
Naouar Labidi, a senior officer with the World Food Programme (WFP), emphasized the "unique" character of the food security situation, calling it "unprecedented."
Labidi noted that even in Yemen and Somalia, never has 100% of the population been food insecure like in Gaza.
Toddlers and newborns are particularly vulnerable since they rely heavily on food and nourishment to sustain their developing physical and mental abilities. Their growth may be hampered if they do not receive enough nourishment, resulting in irreparable physical and cognitive impairment known as 'stunting'.
With over 135,000 in Gaza under the age of 2, doctors believe a whole generation is now in danger of developing the condition.
Anuradha Narayan, a senior nutrition adviser at UNICEF warned that "The brain is such a big part of caloric and nutrient consumption in a child’s development,” meaning the consequences of stunting "are going to last a lifetime."
Dr Nasser Bulbul, head of the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Shifa Hospital, told the Telegraph that cases of severe malnutrition were on the increase, emphasizing that with no nutrition the children "are turning into skeletons.”
