7:26 a.m. ET, December 13, 2023
WHO calls for protection for humanitarian workers in Gaza after medical staff were detained at checkpoint
By CNN's Niamh Kennedy The World Health Organization (WHO) has called for the protection of humanitarian and medical workers in Gaza after reporting that medical staff were detained and beaten at a checkpoint and stripped of their clothing during a “high-risk” mission at a Gaza hospital -City on Saturday.
A WHO team, in collaboration with the Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) and the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), carried out the mission to “deliver medical supplies, assess the situation at the hospital and transfer seriously injured patients. “to a hospital in the south,” the WHO said in a statement on Tuesday.
As the convoy headed north on Saturday, it underwent an inspection at the Wadi Gaza checkpoint, during which ambulance crew members were asked to leave their vehicles behind for identification, the statement said.
According to the WHO, two PRCS workers were detained for over an hour after exiting their vehicles. According to WHO officials, one of the PRCS workers was forced to kneel at gunpoint before being taken out of sight “where he was reportedly harassed, beaten, stripped and searched,” the statement said.
Checkpoints in Wadi Gaza are maintained by the Israeli Defense Forces. The IDF confirmed a CNN question about the incident but did not respond.
The WHO said their convoy came under fire after passing through the checkpoint.
“As the mission reached Gaza City, the aid truck carrying medical supplies and one of the ambulances were hit by bullets,” the WHO said.
It was not said who shot her.
After successfully completing its mission at Al-Ahli Hospital, the convoy was stopped at the same checkpoint in Wadi Gaza upon its return. According to the WHO, one of the two PRCS employees was detained for further interrogation.
“The mission made numerous attempts to coordinate his release but ultimately – after more than two and a half hours – had to make the difficult decision to leave the highly dangerous area and move on to ensure the safety and well-being of patients and humanitarian workers “, says the statement.
WHO said its staff managed to meet with the PRCS worker on Sunday after his release.
The man said he was “harassed, beaten, threatened, stripped of his clothes and blindfolded” while in detention.
“His hands were tied behind his back and he was subjected to degrading and humiliating treatment. After his release, he was forced to walk south with his hands tied behind his back and without clothes or shoes,” the WHO claimed.