Hospitals in Gaza at ‘breaking point’, warns WHO

UNITED NATIONS: Hundreds of thousands of besieged Palestinians still in northern Gaza face unprecedented hardship after being isolated by deadly Israeli military operations, while a medical convoy sent by the United Nations and partners was fired on in Gaza City, according to UN humanitarian officials.

The development came as foreign ministers from the G-7 group of countries joined international calls on Wednesday for “humanitarian pauses” in the fighting to protect civilians, help bring in aid and support the release of more than 240 hostages held captive in Gaza since October 7.

Due to the lack of medical supplies, hospitals in the north now conduct surgery without anaesthesia, the World Health Organization (WHO) said.

Adding to the dire healthcare picture, OCHA reported that a convoy of five trucks from WHO and the UN agency for Palestine refugees (UNRWA), escorted by two vehicles of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), came under fire on its way to deliver lifesaving medical supplies to the Shifa and Al-Quds hospitals in Gaza city on Tuesday.

UNRWA confirmed on Wednesday night local time the delivery of WHO’s much needed emergency medical supplies and medicines to the Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, “despite huge risks to our staff and health partners”.

In a statement, the head of UNRWA, Phillipe Lazzarini, together with WHO Chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said it was only the second delivery of lifesaving supplies to the hospital since Israel’s total siege of Gaza began. Tens of thousands of displaced people have sought shelter in the hospital’s parking lots and yards.

“Al-Shifa Hospital has traditionally been the most important health facility in Gaza. Its doctors, nurses and other workers have responded heroically to the current desperate situation. But they need more support.

“The northern areas of Gaza cannot and should not be isolated nor deprived of the delivery of humanitarian assistance. Patients there cannot be denied the healthcare to which they are entitled and urgently need. Aid should reach the whole of Gaza,” the top UN officials said.

As deaths and injuries in Gaza continue rising, intense overcrowding and disrupted health, water, and sanitation systems pose an added danger: the rapid spread of infectious diseases, said the UN health agency in a statement, adding that “worrying trends are already emerging.”