The World Health Organization called on Israel to cancel its orders for more than a million people living in the northern Gaza Strip to evacuate their homes and head south.
With the increase in intensity of escalation in the Gaza Strip, amid speculation that Israel would move towards a ground attack, the Israeli army informed the residents of the Strip to evacuate their homes and head towards the south, as it said in the text of the statement it delivered to the residents of the Strip: “To the residents of Gaza City, the terrorist organizations have begun the war against the state.” Israel, Gaza City has become a battlefield. You must evacuate your homes immediately and head to the south of Wadi Gaza.”
While the United Nations strongly called for the cancellation of any such order, to avoid what could turn what is already a tragedy into a catastrophic situation, the World Health Organization considered that a mass evacuation “would represent a disaster for patients, health workers and other civilians who would remain in the area or be trapped during Mass exodus movement.
In a statement obtained by Sky News Arabia, the World Health Organization identified the consequences of that Israeli call at a number of points, saying:
* With air strikes continuing and borders closed, civilians have nowhere safe to seek refuge, and nearly half of Gaza’s population is under 18 years of age. With supplies of safe food, clean water and health services running out, and without adequate shelter, the risk of children and adults becoming infected will increase. Among them are the elderly and diseases.
* The Palestinian Ministry of Health informed the organization that it is impossible to evacuate vulnerable patients from hospitals without endangering their lives, as these patients have serious injuries and some of them depend on devices to survive, and transporting them in the midst of hostilities exposes their lives to direct danger.
* The two Ministry of Health hospitals in northern Gaza that are still operating have far exceeded their combined capacity of 760 beds and are severely overcrowded.
* Among the thousands of wounded and other patients receiving care in hospitals, there are hundreds of severely injured people and more than 100 people who require critical care, and those who are in the most sick condition, and there are several thousand others, who are also injured or have other health needs. And they cannot get any kind of care.
* Limited time, complex logistical arrangements for transportation, damage to roads, and above all lack of supportive care during transportation, all make their transportation more difficult.
* With regard to medical supplies, their shortage is currently endangering the lives of patients and hindering health workers, and the supplies that the organization had previously prepared in Gaza have been mostly consumed.
* The organization has prepared medical supplies at its logistics center in Dubai, and is ready to deliver them to Al-Arish in Egypt – just 20 minutes away from Rafah – as soon as landing permit is received. These supplies will be sufficient to care for more than 300,000 patients suffering from various injuries and diseases.
* The organization calls for the immediate establishment of a humanitarian corridor to safely deliver these supplies to healthcare facilities in Gaza, including through Rafah.
* The organization reiterated its call for the entry of life-saving supplies and the delivery of fuel, water and food for humanitarian purposes; to provide protection under international humanitarian law for civilians, health workers and health infrastructure; And ultimately to put an end to hostilities and violence.
Difficult situations
In turn, the Ministry of Health in Gaza confirmed that health services in the Strip have entered a critical stage, and that medicines, medical equipment, and fuel are about to run out.
For his part, the spokesman for the Ministry of Health in Gaza, Ashraf Al-Qudra, said that the health teams have been working for 7 days and have not left their sites despite the targeting and casualties among their ranks.
He added: “Hospitals have begun to lose their clinical, pharmaceutical and fuel capabilities, and worse is coming. We appeal to all parties to expedite the introduction of medical supplies to hospitals before it is too late.”
2023-10-13 20:48:29
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