ISRAEL’S ongoing blockade of northern Gaza has brought the healthcare system to near-total collapse, with almost no remaining services, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).
Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus confirmed that the Israeli occupation has blocked two WHO relief missions to Gaza, leaving hospitals in desperate need of fuel, medicine, and equipment.
‘We urge Israel to stop evacuation orders and protect hospitals,’ Tedros said, warning that residents have ‘nowhere to go’.
The situation has been exacerbated by Israel’s blockade on humanitarian aid, as the World Food Programme (WFP) announced it could no longer distribute food parcels in northern Gaza.
‘We are no longer able to distribute food in any form in north Gaza,’ the WFP stated, adding that flour shortages have severely impacted bakeries in the south and central regions.
The UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry condemned Israel’s deliberate attacks on medical personnel and facilities, calling these actions war crimes.
The Commission’s Chair, Navi Pillay, said: ‘Israel must immediately stop its unprecedented wanton destruction of healthcare facilities in Gaza.’
She added that the attacks have inflicted ‘incalculable suffering’, particularly on children, many of whom rely on now-destroyed hospitals for neonatal and paediatric care.
In the latest escalation, Israeli forces blocked fuel trucks headed for hospitals in Gaza City and northern Gaza, according to Gaza’s Government Media Office. Without fuel, hospitals face imminent shutdown within the next 24 hours, further endangering the 700,000 residents of northern Gaza.
‘This blockade represents a grave crime aimed at dismantling the healthcare system,’ the office stated, holding both the Israeli occupation and the US administration accountable for the ongoing war crimes against Gaza’s health infrastructure.
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