The World Health Organisation (WHO) has issued a stark warning about severe shortages of medicines, food, shelter, and fuel across Gaza, particularly in the northern region, describing conditions on the ground as “catastrophic”.
WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that while displaced people initially sought refuge in public buildings or relatives’ homes when the conflict began following Hamas’s attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, “90% now live in tents”.
This situation has left them increasingly vulnerable to respiratory infections and other illnesses, particularly as cold weather, rain, and flooding worsen food insecurity and malnutrition.
The situation is especially dire in the northern part of the besieged enclave, where the UN has warned of famine risk.
A WHO team spent three days this week visiting more than ten health facilities in the north, finding “critical shortages of essential medicines” alongside a high number of trauma cases and increasing chronic disease patients requiring treatment.
Rik Peeperkorn, WHO’s representative in the Palestinian Territories, expressed hope that a planned mission on Saturday could reach the only two partially functioning hospitals in the north – Kamal Adwan and Al Awda.
“They need everything”, he stressed, highlighting that fuel shortages in particular are making humanitarian operations impossible.
In a rare positive development, WHO facilitated the emergency medical evacuation of 17 patients from Gaza to Jordan earlier this week, with 12 expected to travel to the United States for treatment.
These patients are among nearly 300 who have been allowed to leave the enclave since Israel closed the main Rafah border crossing in early May.
However, approximately 12,000 patients in Gaza are still waiting for medical evacuation clearance, prompting calls for the establishment of medical corridors to facilitate their transfer.
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