DaysofPal – The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that more than 16,500 patients in the Gaza Strip urgently require medical evacuation for treatment outside the besieged territory, as the health system continues to buckle under the strain of continued hostilities and severe shortages.
Rick Pepperkorn, the WHO’s representative in Palestine, said during a press conference in Geneva that Gaza’s hospitals remain critically impaired, with only 18 out of 36 facilities partially operational.
“Half of Gaza’s hospitals are providing only limited services,” Pepperkorn noted, stressing that thousands of patients with severe injuries, chronic illnesses, and life-threatening conditions cannot receive the care they need inside the Strip.
Pepperkorn said that since the ceasefire began, 26 health centers have reopened, alongside the establishment of eight new facilities. However, he warned that these efforts fall far short of meeting the scale of medical need.
Since the ceasefire took effect, the WHO has managed to deliver 2,050 packages of medical supplies into Gaza. Yet essential medicines are running perilously low: 343 out of 622 items on the Palestinian Ministry of Health’s critical medicines list have reached “near-exhaustion.”
“These indicators reflect the depth of the escalating health crisis,” Pepperkorn said. “There is an urgent need for safe medical evacuation corridors and a sustained flow of life-saving supplies.”
Despite the ceasefire, children continue to die. UNICEF reported that at least 67 children have been killed by Israeli fire in Gaza since October 10.
“On average, nearly two children have been killed every day since the ceasefire went into effect,” UNICEF spokesperson Ricardo Pires told reporters in Geneva on Friday. Dozens more have been wounded during the same period.
Humanitarian agencies describe Gaza as enduring one of the gravest disasters in its modern history. The ongoing Israeli military operations have left more than a million children facing the constant threat of death, hunger, disease, and displacement.
According to Gaza government figures, more than 650,000 children are at risk of starvation, while thousands urgently need medical evacuation, and tens of thousands of orphans live in catastrophic conditions amid the devastation.
Since the start of Israel’s war on the Gaza Strip on October 7, 2023, the death toll has climbed to 69,546, most of them women and children. The number of wounded has reached 170,833, underscoring the scale of destruction and the collapse of the health system.
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