The director of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, this Sunday described the impact of the war between Israel and Hamas on the health sector in the Gaza Strip as catastrophic.
Tedros said at the opening of a special WHO meeting on the state of health in the Palestinian territories that health workers in Gaza “They are doing their best under unimaginable circumstances.”
“The impact of the conflict on health is catastrophic,” he said, as quoted by the French agency AFP.
The meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, was requested by 15 member states of the WHO.
The participants will discuss the situation of a practically collapsed healthcare system in Gaza.
According to the WHO, there have been about 500 attacks on facilities and almost two-thirds of hospitals and health centers cannot function.
The situation is aggravated by the major difficulties in receiving humanitarian aid.
Tedros said that among the 134 UN professionals killed in the conflict was at least one WHO employee, 29-year-old Dima Abdullatif Mohammed Alhaj.
“A ceasefire would be the only way to truly protect health in Gaza,” Tedros said, according to Spanish news agency EFE.
He also regretted that the UN Security Council could not reach a consensus on a ceasefire this week, citing the United States’ veto.
“There will be no health without peace and there will be no peace without health,” he said.
Palestinian Health Minister Mai al-Kaila told the meeting that more than 129,000 cases of respiratory diseases and 55,000 cases of skin diseases have been diagnosed as a result of overcrowding and poor hygiene in Gaza.
“The urgency of the situation is undeniable and we call on humanitarian organizations to take concrete measures to address the consequences of this war and prevent further suffering for the people of Gaza,” he said.
Al Kaila called for an “immediate end to the brutal war on Gaza” so that humanitarian aid and medical personnel can “unconditionally” enter the Palestinian enclave of 2.3 million people.
The Israeli delegation, represented by the UN Ambassador in Geneva Meirav Eilon Shahar, began by criticizing the WHO for holding an extraordinary meeting on this conflict and not on Yemen, Syria and Sudan.
The diplomat accused Hamas of failing to provide medical care to the 137 hostages still in its custody and of attempting to attack health facilities on Israeli territory with rockets.
“We recognize the suffering in Gaza, but make no mistake: Hamas is responsible for it,” said Eilon Shahar, who said Israel respects the laws of war and tries to minimize harm to civilians.
“The reality is that we are fighting a terrorist organization that operates from hospitals, schools and UN facilities,” he stressed, stating that Hamas has “been militarizing health facilities for years.”
The diplomat warned that today’s WHO session, which will vote on a resolution on the health situation in Gaza, “will only serve to fuel Hamas’ actions.”
“Despite this encounter, we will defeat Hamas, we will continue to protect our people and we will bring the hostages home,” he said.
Source: DN
