About 9,000 Gaza patients in urgent need of evacuation abroad: WHO chief
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. Photo: Bloomberg
Amid the ongoing Israeli assault on Gaza in retaliation for the Hamas terrorist attacks on October 7 last year, and fears of a new front opening up in Rafah amid the ongoing war, UN Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said World Health Organization Saturday that about 9,000 patients trapped in the Strip were in urgent need of evacuation abroad, CNN reported.
With Gaza’s health care infrastructure “virtually collapsed,” thousands of people need treatment for cancer and kidney dialysis, as well as for injuries sustained during the conflict, Tedros wrote on X.
More than 3,400 people have already been evacuated, with many more awaiting Israeli approval to leave, according to CNN, according to the head of the WHO.
“We urge Israel to expedite approvals for evacuations so that critical patients can be treated,” Tedros said, adding: “Every moment matters.”
According to CNN, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said on Friday that Gaza’s partially functional hospitals can only provide “limited services” and are overwhelmed with patients. They are also facing “critical shortages of fuel, medicine, medical supplies and healthcare workers.”
According to the UN, as of March 12, WHO had documented more than 400 attacks on healthcare infrastructure in the Gaza Strip, affecting some 100 ambulances and nearly 100 health facilities.
Israel has repeatedly blamed Hamas for hiding behind civilians in hospitals and other medical facilities in Gaza, accusations the militant group denies.
Meanwhile, nearly 400 tons of food aid are expected to arrive in Gaza by ship in the coming days, the non-governmental organization managing the deliveries said, CNN reported.
Juan Camilo, a community outreach manager at World Central Kitchen, stated that the aid would be distributed to residents in the northern part of the Strip.
He said The Open Arms, a rescue ship that recently delivered aid to Gaza, was towing a barge, while another cargo ship, ‘Jennifer’, was also carrying aid.
World Central Kitchen mentioned that the ships are equipped with machines to speed up the unloading process. Additionally, they noted that the assistance includes dates provided by the United Arab Emirates for Palestinians observing Ramadan.
Earlier this month, World Central Kitchen said almost 200 tonnes of aid was delivered by ship in an operation carried out in partnership with the Emirati government and Open Arms, with support from Cyprus.
(Only the headline and image of this report may have been reworked by Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is automatically generated from a syndicated feed.)
First print: March 30, 2024 | 11:55 PM IST