A total of 58 percent of the missions led by the World Health Organization (WHO) to bring assistance to Gaza since the beginning of the conflict have been denied, canceled or hindered, the agency’s representative in the occupied territories, Rik Peeperkorn, warned this Friday.
In absolute numbers, of the 273 missions planned by the health agency, 66 were denied, 26 were canceled despite being previously authorized and 65 They faced obstacles, said Peeperkorn, who informed the press accredited in Geneva by videoconference from Gaza.
He also warned that the number of evacuations from the Strip has been significantly reduced since the closure of the Rafah crossing on May 7: Before that date there had been 4,947 (most of them children) and after that only 378 could be carried out.
The most recent evacuation, on December 4, involved eight patients, of whom five will be treated in Belgium, two in Spain and one in Romania.
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Peeperkorn detailed that the country to which the WHO has redirected the most evacuations are:
- United Arab Emirates (266 people)
- United States (22)
- Jordan (20)
- Romania (15).
The WHO representative recalled that Since the start of hostilities on October 7 of last year, the WHO has recorded 1,249 attacks on health facilities, although more in the West Bank (658) than in Gaza itself (591).
The last of them occurred just a few hours ago at the Kamal Adwan hospital in Beit Lahia (northern Gaza), located in an area under Israeli siege for more than 60 days and which, according to those responsible for the facility, is in a “catastrophic” situation.
Peeperkorn pointed out about these latest attacks that although the information is still confusing, there were moments of panic in the early morning when There were alleged orders from the Israeli defense forces for the hospital to be evacuated.
“There were people trying to scale the walls, arrests, and a large part of the people headed towards the main street”described the WHO representative.
The latest attacks on the facility, apparently carried out with unmanned quadcopters, led to the death of a 16-year-old patient while being carried away. in a wheelchair to the radiology area, while 12 other people were injured, including two healthcare workers.
“The hospital was shot at by quadcopters eight times between morning and night.“Peeperkorn noted.
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The source insisted that health facilities, including ambulances, They are protected by international humanitarian law and should never be attacked.
With information from EFE.
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