WHO Head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told journalists that the Al-Ahli and Patient Friendly Hospitals in northern Gaza are the last institutions unable to function due to fighting nearby.
He said patients from Al-Ahli have been evacuated to the Indonesian hospital, which is now three times its capacity.
Thousands await evacuation
“More than 10,000 patients still require medical evacuation for treatment that cannot be provided in Gaza,” he said, stressing that “multiple evacuation corridors are urgently needed to the West Bank, Egypt and Jordan.”
Tedros noted that virtually the entire population of Gaza faces high levels of acute food insecurity, with nearly one in four people at risk of starvation.
Meanwhile, few goods are entering the enclave, with only five WHO trucks allowed in last week.
Aid stuck at the border
According to Tedros, there are more than 34 trucks waiting at the El Arish border crossing with Egypt, 850 pallets of goods waiting for collection and another 40 trucks ready in Ismailiya, also in Egypt.
He called for an immediate lifting of restrictions on supplies to Gaza, saying that “the people of Gaza who have nothing to do with this conflict should not be the ones who pay the price for this.”
United Nations
People assess the damage after a school in central Gaza was bombed.
‘Perfect breeding ground for diseases’
WHO Director for the Eastern Mediterranean, Dr. Hanan Balkhy, also briefed reporters on her 11-day visit to the Occupied Palestinian Territories. She described the situation in Gaza as “deeply worrying on both a human and humanitarian level.”
She said the lack of fuel is jeopardizing all health and humanitarian operations there, as sewage and garbage litter the devastated streets and the air is filled with fermented waste.
“This situation provides an ideal breeding ground for the spread of diseases, leading to an increase in the number of cases of acute watery diarrhea and acute respiratory infections, among many others,” she said.
Collapse of law and order
“The ongoing violence and breakdown of law and order are devastating an already paralyzed city and creating an extremely high-risk environment – not just for aid workers, but for everyone in Gaza,” she added.
The breakdown of law and order also makes it virtually impossible to control gender-based violence, exposing displaced Palestinians to even more life-threatening risks.
While WHO has expanded its medical supply chain to Gaza to respond to escalating hostilities and rising needs, much of this aid remains “stuck on the wrong side of the borders,” she said, echoing Tedros.
“And even when supplies are compromised, it is a challenge for our teams to deliver them to hospitals that urgently need them,” she added.
Open the borders
Dr. Balkhy also spoke about her visit to the IMC field hospital in Deir Al-Balah in central Gaza, which has been relocated twice in recent months and has tripled its capacity.
She met a severely malnourished seven-year-old girl who had been evacuated from the north three months ago and is among the 10,000 patients awaiting further evacuation outside Gaza so they can receive specialized care for conditions such as traumatic injuries and chronic diseases.
During his stay in the region, the senior WHO official also met with the UN humanitarian coordinator for the occupied Palestinian territories, Muhannad Hadi, and the UN envoy for the Middle East, Tor Wennesland. They all agreed that something had to be done about the suffering in Gaza.
“We need member states to swiftly fulfil their global diplomatic mandate and expedite an immediate ceasefire“, she said from Cairo, Egypt.
“We need all borders, including Rafah, to be open and fuel, medical supplies and other essential humanitarian aid to flow in. And we need to ensure that those in need of medical care can leave.”
Attacks on the West Bank continue
Dr. Balkhy also traveled to the West Bank and witnessed the rapidly deteriorating health situation there.
She visited the Jenin General Hospital and the clinic run by the UN refugee agency for Palestine UNRWAand learned of health workers killed or injured in repeated attacks. She also saw extensive damage to infrastructure and medical equipment.
Due to damaged roads and limited access, WHO and its partners, including the Palestinian Red Crescent, have set up mobile medical services to reach people at the scene of injuries, she said.
The UN agency also supported mass casualty management training and response planning at Jenin General Hospital and six other hospitals in the West Bank.
“Our goal is seamless and effective trauma care at all levels, based on the lessons from Gaza,” she said.
Support regional health systems
Dr. Balkhy also stressed the need to strengthen the already fragile health systems in neighboring Jordan, Lebanon and Syria.
She expressed deep concern about the escalation of violence along the Lebanon-Israel border, which has led to more deaths and injuries among civilians and health workers, as well as displacement and damage to health infrastructure.
“In our region, entire generations have grown up with nothing but conflict and hardship.“, she said. “Addressing the political root causes of these emergencies is not only a humanitarian imperative, but a strategic investment in regional stability and security.”
Food rations reduced
The UN and aid agencies continue their relief efforts as the humanitarian crisis in Gaza continues.
The World Food Programme (World Food Programme) has helped about a quarter of a million people so far this month and provided rations to more than a million people in June, said UN spokesman Stéphane Dujarric speaks in New York.
“However, limited food supplies in central and southern Gaza forced WFP to reduce rations last month, with some areas receiving only wheat flour,” he said.
Stocks are running out
WFP has also worked with dozens of community kitchens to provide approximately 1.8 million hot meals to people in central and southern Gaza, and Gaza City, since early July.
“But the agency warns that the supplies needed for this aid will be exhausted within days unless additional supplies are received,” Mr Dujarric said.
Meanwhile, humanitarian organizations are providing crucial support to displaced people moving from northern to southern Gaza after Israel was forced to abandon Gaza City.
This includes water, hot meals, food parcels and health and nutritional support.
