Geneva, 14 December 2023 (WAI): The World Health Organization (WHO) describes the remaining, hardly operational hospital in Gaza as a “humanitarian disaster zone” due to the continuous fighting.
According to a WHO assessment, the continuous fighting makes it difficult for the hospital to offer even primary medical care. Due to a shortage of resources, doctors are compelled to make difficult decisions while working nonstop under very challenging situations.
Dr. Tedros, the Director General of WHO, stated, “The situation in Gaza is dire.” “Medics at the last functioning hospital in northern Gaza are compelled to treat patients on the ground due to severe shortages of basic supplies like fuel, oxygen, food, and water.”
The situation in Gaza’s Al-Ahli Hospital is dire, according to WHO representative Dr. Peeperkorn. Trauma victims crowd the hallways, medical staff treats patients on the ground, and basic supplies are in short supply.
More than two-thirds of hospitals and 70% of primary healthcare institutions are now out of operation, highlighting the catastrophic effects of the conflict on Gaza’s once “reasonably functioning” health system—which was equivalent to that of its surrounding nations.
Using resources meant for just 40 patients, Dr. Peeperkorn depicted a woefully understaffed Al-Ahli Hospital. A final recourse for physicians pressed by severe shortages is to amputate limbs.
The hospital’s already dire circumstances were made much worse when a UN convoy transporting vital patients and supplying supplies encountered “serious incidents,” adding to the devastation.
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Dr. Peeperkorn described the horrific experience of a UN-led relief convoy going door-to-door with patients’ vital supplies. Two employees of the Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) were held for more than an hour at an Israeli military checkpoint.
The WHO personnel shockingly saw one of them undressed, searched, harassed, assaulted, and forced to kneel at gunpoint.
Emphasizing the outrageous delays and maltreatment that obstruct essential humanitarian operations, Dr. Peeperkorn stated, “Nobody can be detained when they are part of a medical mission.
An International Relations graduate, with a keen interest in diverse areas of IR; diplomacy, global politics & human rights.
