The World Health Organization (WHO) has issued an urgent plea to Israel to grant access to Al-Shifa Hospital in the Gaza Strip, emphasizing the need to move patients to alternate medical facilities to save lives. A total of 21 patients have died at the hospital since March 18, according to WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus in a statement to the press.
"Since the onset of the hospital siege on March 18, we have witnessed the deaths of 21 patients. The hostilities continue to rage around the hospital premises," said the WHO director-general. "We implore Israel to promptly facilitate access and establish a humanitarian corridor to enable the WHO and its partners to perform critical patient evacuations," Ghebreyesus underscored.
Ghebreyesus relayed details from an Al-Shifa Hospital official, noting that 107 patients are currently housed in a portion of the facility that fails to meet essential standards. He highlighted the dire lack of "medical care, therapeutic attention, and necessary supplies." Since the siege began, patients have been shuffled around the hospital multiple times. The patient group includes 4 children and 28 individuals in critical condition, many with infected wounds and suffering from dehydration. As of March 30, there was a reported average of just one bottle of water available for every 15 people. "Infectious diseases are spreading due to extremely unsanitary conditions and a severe shortage of water. Nutrition is critically limited - a particularly perilous situation for diabetic patients whose health is deteriorating," Gebreyesus reported. "We reiterate: time is of the essence," he added, stressing the importance of a ceasefire.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in a press conference on March 31, stated that the military had neutralized over 200 armed militants during an operation at the Al-Shifa medical center. Netanyahu claimed that the hospital had been converted into a "central hub of terrorist operations for [Hamas]."
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Photo: WHO/Public Domain
Based on materials from TASS