The humanitarian aid entering the Gaza Strip is “insufficient” and has not led to an improvement in the situation in this famine-stricken Palestinian territory, the World Health Organization (WHO) warned this Thursday, October 23.
“Hunger is still present because not enough food is arriving” in the Gaza Strip since the ceasefire came into effect and “the situation remains catastrophic,” declared WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus during an online press conference from WHO headquarters in Geneva.
“The crisis is far from over”
Since the US-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Hamas came into effect on October 10, “the famine has not diminished because there is not enough food,” he warned.
Israel has repeatedly cut off aid to the Gaza Strip during the war, worsening already dire humanitarian conditions. The UN denounces a situation of famine in certain areas of this Palestinian territory.
But while the agreement negotiated by US President Donald Trump foresees the entry of 600 trucks per day, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus assured that currently only between 200 and 300 trucks enter per day.
And “many of these trucks are commercial,” he added, stressing that many people in the Gaza Strip cannot afford these products.
“The crisis is far from over and the needs are immense” because the aid delivered “still represents only a fraction of what is needed,” he insisted.
“There are no fully functioning hospitals”
The World Health Organization said Thursday that it predicted at least $7 billion would be needed just to rehabilitate the Gaza Strip’s health system.
“There are no fully functioning hospitals in Gaza and only 14 of 36 are functioning. There is a serious shortage of essential medicines, equipment and health personnel,” said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, warning that “the total cost of rebuilding Gaza’s health system will be at least seven billion dollars.”
Citing figures from the Ministry of Health in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, Nabil Tabbal, head of health emergencies at the WHO, said 89 people had been killed and some 317 wounded since the ceasefire came into effect.
“More than 170,000 people are injured in Gaza, including more than 5,000 amputees and 3,600 who suffer serious burns,” lamented the director general of the WHO.
“15,000 patients” await care outside Gaza
The WHO on Wednesday facilitated the evacuation of 41 patients and 145 companions, but warned that “there are still 15,000 patients” who “need treatment outside Gaza, including 4,000 children.”
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus urged more countries to mobilize to take in residents of the Gaza Strip who need specialized care and called on Israel to allow “all crossing points to be opened to allow more patients to be treated in Egypt.”
Since the start of the war, he insisted, “more than 700 people have died while waiting for evacuation.”
Source: BFM TV
