WHO alarmed by number of hungry patients in Gaza hospitals

The World Health Organization (WHO) sees with concern the number of hungry patients found in the hospitals of Loop. A mission led by the organization visited hospitals in the city on Saturday and delivered more than 19,000 liters of fuel to Al Chifa hospital, the largest in the country. palestinian territorywhich was besieged by israeli army in November.

This was announced on Sunday night on X (ex-Twitter) by the head of the WHO, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. Members of the mission saw “growing desperation due to hunger,” declared Tedros, who advocated for “an immediate increase in (delivery of) food and water to ensure the health and stability of the population.”

According to the head of the WHO, “the incessant fighting and the large number of wounded have brought the capacities (of the Al Chifa hospital) to their knees.” Under these conditions, the establishment can only provide “the most basic first aid.”

Severity diagnosis

Israel vowed to destroy Hamas, classified as a terrorist organization by the United States, the European Union and mainly Israel, after an unprecedented attack on its territory on October 7, which left around 1,140 dead, mostly civilians, according to the latest Israeli official report.

Palestinian fighters also kidnapped about 250 people, 129 of whom are still held in Gaza, according to Israel. Israeli bombings in the Gaza Strip, where thousands of bombs were dropped, left 20,400 dead, mostly women, adolescents and children, according to Hamas.

Sean Casey, a member of the WHO mission, said the surgical rooms are overloaded at Al Chifa hospital, adding that he had not been able to assess the operation of the operating rooms “because there are people inside and they don’t open the doors.”

“Everyone we talk to is hungry,” he adds in a video he filmed at Al Chifa hospital and published on X. “There is a risk of famine,” warns.

The WHO chief also reported that desperate residents had grabbed food aid from a truck headed to the hospital. “In this context of serious food shortages, the search for food (…) pushes some, desperate, to grab food from delivery trucks,” writes Tedros.

The WHO teams also visited the maternity wards of Al-Sahaba and Al-Helou, both registering up to 35 births per day, in a context of shortages of food, water, oxygen, antibiotics and anesthetics, as well as fuel to make run the generators.