12/15/2023 The Director General of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus POLITICS Europe Press/Contact/Lian Yi
World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said he was “shocked” by the deaths of four Palestinian Red Crescent staff and two patients in an Israeli attack on an ambulance in the Gaza Strip. “The violence and attacks against health services and the civilian population must end. Ceasefire now,” he declared through his official profile on the social network X, formerly known as Twitter, after the humanitarian organization denounced the attack and called on the international community to “act immediately to protect medical missions.” The Palestinian Red Crescent had pointed out that “the systematic attacks by Israeli occupation forces on medical facilities, transport, personnel, the wounded and the sick in the Gaza Strip constitute abhorrent violations of international humanitarian law,” as the Genoa Convention protects medical personnel. “As an occupying power, the Israeli occupation has a responsibility to ensure the wounded and sick safe access to medical transport and immediate medical care with the least possible delays. The occupation's continued disregard of its legal responsibilities and violations against protected persons also constitute war.” “Crimes within the meaning of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court,” he denounced. The Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) launched a series of attacks at the beginning of October in which around 1,200 people died and almost 240 were kidnapped. The Israeli army responded with a bloody counter-offensive against the Gaza Strip, which has already left more than 23,300 Palestinians dead. In addition, there are more than 330 deaths in security force operations and attacks by settlers in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.