Tedros praised the medical workers in Gaza who continue to work under increasingly difficult conditions.
He said in a post on the X platform, “The elimination of the health system in Gaza is a tragedy,” adding, “We continue to call for an immediate ceasefire.”
Tedros stressed that “in the face of constant insecurity and the influx of injured people, there are doctors, nurses, ambulance drivers and others who continue to make efforts to save lives.”
Since the outbreak of war in Gaza following an unprecedented attack launched by Hamas on Israel on October 7, the United Nations agency has been warning of the deterioration of the health care system in the Strip.
The Hamas attack resulted in the deaths of about 1,140 people, most of them civilians, the majority of whom died on the first day, according to the Israeli authorities.
During the attack, 250 people were kidnapped, 129 of whom are still detained in the Gaza Strip, according to the Hebrew state authorities.
Israel responds to the Hamas attack with violent bombing of the Gaza Strip and a ground attack after pledging to eliminate the Hamas movement. The Israeli bombing killed 20,424 people, according to the latest toll announced by Hamas authorities.
The bombing destroyed large areas of the Gaza Strip, which has a population of 2.4 million people who suffer from a scarcity of water, food, fuel and medicine as a result of a strict siege imposed by Israel, which only allowed the entry of limited amounts of humanitarian aid.
The World Health Organization reports that “of Gaza’s total 36 hospitals, only nine are now partially functioning, all of them in the south.”
The organization sent missions to Al-Shifa and Al-Ahly hospitals located in the northern Gaza Strip, which were severely damaged.
The organization described the scenes of patients left begging for food and water as “unbearable.”
It warned that the percentage of health care personnel still working in Gaza is limited to 30 percent.
Hospitals protected under international humanitarian law have been repeatedly bombed by Israel in Gaza since the outbreak of war.
The Israeli army says that Hamas has tunnels under hospitals and accuses it of using medical facilities as command centers, which the movement denies.
As of December 20, the World Health Organization counted 246 attacks on health care facilities in Gaza, including hospitals and ambulances, resulting in 582 deaths and 748 injuries.
2023-12-24 19:19:59
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