WAR IN THE MIDDLE EAST
The WHO chief reported that desperate residents picked up food aid from a truck on the way to the hospital
Per AFPDEC 25, 2023 at 12:11 p.m
Amid war and hunger Mahmoud Hams/AFP
The World Health Organization (WHO) expressed concern about the number of hungry patients its teams encountered at several hospitals in the Gaza Strip over the weekend.
On Saturday (23), a WHOled mission visited hospitals in the city of Gaza and delivered more than 19,000 liters of fuel to Al Shifa Hospital, the largest in the Palestinian territory, which was besieged by the Israeli army in November. announced the general director of the institution, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, in a message published on the X network on Sunday evening.
Mission members saw “growing desperation due to hunger,” said Tedros, who advocated for “an immediate increase (in the supply of) food and water to ensure the health and stability of the population.”
According to him, “the incessant fighting and the large number of wounded have brought the capacity of AlShifa Hospital to its knees.”
Under these conditions, Tedros adds, the facility can only provide “the most basic first aid.”
Israel has vowed to destroy Hamas after an unprecedented attack on its territory on October 7 that killed around 1,140 people, most of them civilians, according to the latest official Israeli report. Israel said Palestinian fighters also kidnapped about 250 people, 129 of whom are still being held in Gaza.
Israeli bombings in the Gaza Strip, in which thousands of bombs were dropped, killed 20,400 people, most of them women, teenagers and children, according to a report released by Hamas.
Sean Casey, a member of the WHO mission, said operating rooms at Al Shifa Hospital were overcrowded. He also explained that it was not possible to assess the functionality of these rooms “because there are people there and the doors do not open.”
“All the people we talk to are hungry,” he added in a video filmed at Al Shifa Hospital and published on the X network.
“There is a risk of famine,” he warns.
The WHO chief also reported that desperate residents picked up food aid from a truck on the way to the hospital.
“With severe food shortages, the search for food (…) is leading some to desperately grab food from delivery trucks,” writes Tedros.
WHO teams also visited AlSahaba and AlHelou maternity wards. In both cases, up to 35 births per day are recorded, despite a lack of food, water, oxygen, antibiotics and anesthetics, as well as fuel to run the generators.