KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 13 — The regional directors of United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), UN Children’s Fund (Unicef) and World Health Organisation (WHO) have called for urgent international action to end the ongoing attacks on hospitals in Gaza.
They stressed that the world cannot stand silent while hospitals, which should be safe havens, are transformed into scenes of death, devastation, and despair.
They said decisive international action is needed now to secure an immediate humanitarian ceasefire to prevent further loss of life, and preserve what’s left of the health care system in Gaza.
“We are horrified at the latest reports of attacks on and in the vicinity of Al-Shifa Hospital, Al-Rantissi Naser Paediatric Hospital, Al-Quds Hospital, and others in Gaza city and northern Gaza, killing many, including children.
“Intense hostilities surrounding several hospitals in northern Gaza are preventing safe access for health staff, the injured, and other patients,” UNFPA Arab States regional director Laila Baker, UNICEF regional director for the Middle East and North Africa Adele Khodr and WHO regional director for the Eastern Mediterranean Dr Ahmed Al-Mandhari said in a joint statement.
Premature and new-born babies on life support are reportedly dying due to power, oxygen, and water cuts at Al-Shifa Hospital, while others are at risk. Staff across a number of hospitals are reporting lack of fuel, water and basic medical supplies, putting the lives of all patients at immediate risk.
Over the past 36 days, WHO has recorded at least 137 attacks on health care in Gaza, resulting in 521 deaths and 686 injuries, including 16 deaths and 38 injuries of health workers on duty.
More than half of the hospitals in the Gaza Strip are closed. Those still functioning are under massive strain and can only provide very limited emergency services, lifesaving surgery and intensive care services.
Shortages of water, food and fuel are also threatening the wellbeing of thousands of displaced people, including women and children, who are sheltering in hospitals and their surrounds.
“Unimpeded, safe and sustained access is needed now to provide fuel, medical supplies and water for these lifesaving services. The violence must end now,” they said.
More than 11,100 people in the Gaza Strip and West Bank, more than 8,000 of them children and women, had been killed in ongoing Israeli attacks since October 7.
Meanwhile, WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Sunday that the Al-Shifa Hospital in the Gaza Strip is no longer operating as a medical facility, citing a concerning rise in patient fatalities.
“Regrettably, the hospital is not functioning as a hospital anymore. The world cannot stand silent while hospitals, which should be safe havens, are transformed into scenes of death, devastation and despair,” Anadolu Agency quoted Tedros as saying on X.
Emphasising “the dire and perilous” situation at the hospital, he highlighted that for the past three days, the facility has lacked electricity and water and has poor internet connectivity, severely hampering its ability to provide essential care.
“Tragically, the number of patient fatalities has increased significantly,” he said, reiterating his call for a ceasefire in the Palestinian enclave.
— Bernama
