WORLD Health Organisation Director-General has said he is ‘deeply concerned’ after Israeli forces stormed one hospital and put another under siege as they advanced deep into western Khan Younis in Gaza.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus wrote in a post on social media on Monday that reports of continuous fighting in the vicinity of Al-Amal Hospital, and Monday raid at Al-Kheir Hospital in Gaza are ‘deeply worrisome’.
‘Not only do they put patients and people seeking safety within these facilities at risk, but they also prevent newly injured people outside the hospitals from being reached and receiving care. This must end,’ Tedros added.
On Monday, Israeli tanks and military vehicles advanced into Khan Younis, placed Al-Amal Hospital under siege, and stormed Al-Kheir Hospital, in Gaza’s bloodiest fighting of the new year so far, cutting the wounded off from trauma care, Palestinian officials said.
The incursion comes as Israeli troops advance for the first time, into the Al-Mawasi district near the Mediterranean Coast, west of Khan Younis, the main city in southern Gaza.
After the troops stormed Al-Kheir hospital they arrested medical staff, said Gaza Health Ministry spokesperson Ashraf Al-Qudra.
The Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) said tanks had also surrounded another Khan Younis hospital, al-Amal, headquarters of the rescue agency, which had lost contact with its staff there.
According to Qudra at least 50 people were killed overnight in Khan Younis, and the siege of medical facilities meant dozens of dead and wounded were beyond the reach of rescuers.
‘The Israeli occupation is preventing ambulance vehicles from moving to recover bodies of martyrs and the wounded from western Khan Younis,’ he said.
Since October 7, 2023, Israel has killed more than 25,000 people, most of them women and children, in Gaza.
The PRCS on Tuesday also reported that the Israeli forces targeted its headquarters in Khan Younis with artillery shelling and gunfire from Israeli drones, preventing the rescue organisation from reaching the wounded.
‘Israeli Occupation targets the PRCS’s headquarters in Khan Younis with artillery shelling on the fourth floor, coinciding with intense gunfire from Israeli drones, resulting in injuries among internally displaced individuals who sought safety on our premises,’ it said on X.
‘We are deeply worried about what is happening around our hospital,’ said Tommaso Della Longa, spokesperson for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.
According to Gazans, the intensity of the bombardments in southern Gaza since the commencement of the war in October was the most severe, encompassing air, land, and sea attacks.
Israel claims Hamas fighters operate from in and around hospitals, which the Palestinian resistance movement and medical staff reject.
The Israeli military launched an offensive last week to capture Khan Younis, which it now claims is the principal headquarters of the Hamas fighters.
Israeli minister of military affairs, Yoav Gallant, said on Monday that military operations will not only continue but will be expanded.
The majority of Gaza’s population, of 2.3 million residents, is currently confined to Rafah, located to the south of Khan Younis, crowded into public buildings and makeshift camps, with shelters constructed of plastic sheets tied to wooden frames.
At least 25,295 Gazans have been killed since the war began on October 7, Gaza health authorities said in an update on Monday.
- Twenty four Israeli troopers have been killed in Gaza in the last 24 hours, making it the deadliest day for its invading forces since their ground operation began.
The chief Israeli military spokesperson, Daniel Hagari, told reporters on Tuesday that the number included 21 troopers who were killed in an explosion.
According to Hagari resistance fighters had fired rocket-propelled grenades at a tank, and at the same time, an explosion occurred in two buildings where forces had planted explosives to destroy them. The buildings collapsed onto the troops.
‘We are still studying and investigating the details of the event and the reasons for the explosion,’ he said.
Earlier, the military had said three soldiers were also killed in a separate attack in the southern Gazan city of Khan Younis, bringing the Israeli occupation forces death toll to 219 for ground operations.
The so-called Israeli national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said the deaths of 24 soldiers in a single day make it ‘clearer than ever’ that Israel must not cease operations in Gaza.
World Health Organisation Director-General says he is ‘deeply concerned’ after Israeli forces stormed one hospital and put another under siege as they advanced deep into western Khan Younis in Gaza.
American author and blogger Max Blumenthal said in a social media post that, ‘Israel’s military confirms 21 soldiers were killed as they were rigging homes in central Gaza to be detonated. This TikTok occupation army cannot break Gaza. US talk of “the day after: is ridiculous. Invading soldiers will continue to die in vain until a ceasefire is imposed.’
The Israeli military deaths came as Israeli forces pushed deep into western Khan Younis in Gaza, with an air, sea, and land bombardment that included storming a hospital and arresting medical staff, Gaza health ministry spokesman Ashraf al Qidra said.
Israel launched an offensive last week to capture Khan Younis, claiming it is the principal headquarters of Hamas fighters.
More than 25,295 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, according to health authorities, ever since the Zionist regime launched its bloody attack against Gaza on October 7.
- A UN expert has warned that Israel is ‘intentionally’ starving Gazans and ‘destroying’ its food system as the genocidal war continues incessantly for more than 100 days now.
Michael Fakhri, UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food said in a post on social media on Monday that starving an entire population, what Israel is doing in Gaza amid the onslaught, is ‘unprecedented’.
‘It’s unprecedented to make an entire civilian population go hungry this completely and quickly. Israel is destroying Gaza’s food system. Israel is intentionally imposing a high rate of disease, prolonged malnutrition, dehydration and starvation by destroying civilian infrastructure,’ he wrote.
In a report last week, the United Nations revealed that Gazans now make up 80 percent of all people facing famine or catastrophic hunger worldwide, what UN human rights experts called an ‘unparalleled humanitarian crisis’.
‘Currently every single person in Gaza is hungry, a quarter of the population are starving and struggling to find food and drinkable water, and famine is imminent,’ it said.
The report also voiced concerns over pregnant women who are not receiving adequate nutrition and healthcare, putting their lives at risk.
In addition, it said, all children under five – 335,000 – are at high risk of severe malnutrition as the risk of famine conditions continues to increase.
‘A whole generation is now in danger of suffering from stunting,’ it warned.
It added that approximately 22 percent of agricultural land, including orchards, greenhouses, and farmland in northern Gaza, has been razed by Israeli forces.
Israel has reportedly destroyed approximately 70 percent of Gaza’s fishing fleet, according to the report.
‘Most bakeries are not operational, due to the lack of fuel, water, and wheat flour along with structural damage. Livestock are starving and unable to provide food or be a source of food. Meanwhile, access to safe water continues to diminish while the healthcare system has collapsed due to the wide-spread destruction of hospitals, significantly heightening the spread of communicable diseases.’
UNICEF says Gaza children face ‘high risk’ of starvation.
Acute food insecurity puts all children under five in the Gaza Strip at high risk of severe malnutrition, according to UNICEF.
Before the current Israeli war, the UN said the 17-year Israeli all-out blockade on Gaza made approximately half of the people in Gaza food insecure and more than 80 percent reliant on humanitarian aid.
‘Aid needs to be delivered to Gazans immediately and without any hindrance to prevent starvation,’ the UN report said.
The Zionist regime imposed a ‘complete siege’ on the territory, cutting off fuel, electricity, food, and water to 2.3 million Palestinians living there after the war erupted on October 7.
As Israeli attacks and battles rage across the Gaza Strip, Palestinian health officials said the death toll from Israeli strikes since war broke out has passed 25,290.
