WHO has no data on over 600 evacuated Al-Aqsa patients, staff in Gaza
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The World Health Organization (WHO) has announced that it lacks information regarding the location of more than 600 patients and medical staff who were forced to leave Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital.
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Palestinian paramedics inspect damage in the patient rooms caused by the Israeli strikes on the maternity ward at Nasser Hospital in the town of Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Sunday, December 17, 2023. (AP)
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stated that the World Health Organization (WHO) lacks information regarding the location of medical personnel and more than 600 evacuated patients from Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, which is the sole remaining hospital in the central Gaza Strip.
"[The WHO] has received troubling reports of increasing hostilities and ongoing evacuation orders near the vital Al-Aqsa Hospital in central Gaza, which according to the facility's director forced over 600 patients and most health workers to leave. Their locations are not currently known," Tedros said on X on Sunday.
.@WHO has received troubling reports of increasing hostilities and ongoing evacuation orders near the vital Al-Aqsa Hospital in the Middle Area of #Gaza, which according to the facility’s director forced over 600 patients and most health workers to leave. Their locations are not… pic.twitter.com/Vzd9UWThNm
— Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (@DrTedros) January 7, 2024
The head of WHO also mentioned that the United Nations' health agency had to cancel another mission in the northern Gaza Strip due to hazardous conditions and the absence of required permissions. He added that there are no fully operational medical facilities in the northern enclave.
IOF not guaranteeing safety for WHO workers
Simultaneously, the WHO's office in the occupied Palestinian territory reported the cancellation of a scheduled mission to Al-Awda Hospital and a central pharmacy in northern Gaza. This marks the fourth time since December 26, that they did not receive the required "deconfliction and safety guarantees."
"The mission planned to move urgently needed medical supplies to sustain the operations of five hospitals in the north, including Al Awda," the WHO's office said on X.
Today, @WHO cancelled a planned mission to Al-Awda hospital and the central drug store in northern #Gaza for the fourth time since 26 Dec because we did not receive deconfliction and safety guarantees.
— WHO in occupied Palestinian territory (@WHOoPt) January 7, 2024
The mission planned to move urgently needed medical supplies to sustain the… pic.twitter.com/6v09rPbBb1
The organization highlighted that it has been 12 days since it was last able to operate in the northern Gaza Strip.
Children confronting 'deadly triple threat'
Earlier on Friday, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) issued a stark warning, declaring that children in the Gaza Strip are confronted with a "deadly triple threat" consisting of diseases, severe malnutrition, and an alarming surge in violence.
Thousands of children in the blockaded strip have already fallen victim to the devastating impact of bombardments and escalating Israeli aggression, coupled with rapidly deteriorating living conditions, according to a UNICEF press release.
The release highlighted a concerning rise in cases of diarrhea among children under five, with numbers soaring from 48,000 to 71,000 in just one week starting December 17. A primary target for the Israeli occupation has been Gaza's hospitals, with barely any available anymore, making adequate healthcare nearly impossible for the afflicted children.
The report also emphasized a growing number of children facing inadequate nutrition, raising fears of acute malnutrition and mortality surpassing famine thresholds, once again not underlining that this is due to the Israeli policy of blockade and besiegement, barring or heavily restricting the entry of any foodstuffs into Gaza.
