LOC18:50
15:50 GMT
GENEVA, Sept 18 (KUNA) -- The Director General of the World Health Organization (WHO) Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Thursday warned of the consequences of the Israeli military invasion and evacuation orders in northern Gaza, which are pushing new waves of forced displacement and forcing families into shrinking and overcrowded areas.
Ghebreyesus warned at a press conference held in Geneva that the health system in Gaza has become "unable to cope with the influx of large numbers of casualties" amid severe shortages of medical equipment and blood units.
He said that Al-Rantisi Children's Hospital was attacked on Wednesday while 80 patients were inside adding that this hospital is the only specialized facility remaining in Gaza. At the same time, humanitarian organizations were prevented from delivering life-saving supplies because of the blockade.
For his part, WHO Representative in the occupied Palestinian territory, Rik Peeperkorn, warned that about half of the functional hospitals are located in Gaza City and that their closure would mean the loss of 36 percent of hospital beds and more than 50 percent of intensive care unit beds.
Peeperkorn pointed out that health facilities in the south are also overwhelmed and unable to absorb more patients.
He noted that (Kamal Adwan) Hospital and a number of primary care centers have gone out of service and that only 68 out of 180 primary health facilities are currently working partially because of limited fuel access.
He warned that these facilities could completely stop operating in the coming days if fuel is not provided.
He also revealed catastrophic consequences for sexual and reproductive health services for women and girls in Gaza, pointing out that "in the first seven months of 2025 the organization recorded about 500 cases of delivery outside hospitals with a worrying increase in premature births and low-birthweight babies."
Peeperkorn also criticized the so-called "humanitarian zone" explaining that its area does not exceed 43 square kilometers less than 12 percent of Gaza's total area of 365 square kilometers and that it includes only three hospitals out of 17.
Both WHO officials emphasized the urgent need for a ceasefire and safe humanitarian access stressing that hospitals in Gaza are protected facilities that must not be attacked or militarized. (end)
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