“Medical staff inside the hospital reported an attack on May 20, with snipers aimed at the building and a rocket hit the fifth floor,” said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on X.
Some 148 staff, 22 patients and their companions remained “stuck” in the hospital as of Sunday. WHO The general manager added before making a call for their protection.
Impact of evacuation orders
According to WHO, only about a third of Gaza’s 36 hospitals remain operational, leaving health care facilities “inaccessible” to patients and medical staff affected by violence or evacuation orders. important.
In the southern city of Rafah, Israel’s military order for Gazans to move affected more than 20 medical posts, four hospitals and four primary health care centers, the United Nations health agency said. note.
Meanwhile, in northern Gaza, 16 health posts as well as five primary health care centers and Kamal Adwan Hospital, along with Al-Awda Hospital were affected.
In a social media post on X on Sunday, WHO’s Tedros has sounded the alarm bell of reports of intense hostility in the vicinity of Kamal Adwan Hospital along with an influx of injured patients despite the facility’s limited treatment capacity.
At least 900,000 Gazans had to leave their homes
In a related development, the United Nations aid coordination office, OCHAreported that Israel’s ongoing military operations and evacuation orders had uprooted it more than 900,000 in the past two weeks – about 4 in 10 Gazans.
This includes 812,000 people from Rafah and more than 100,000 others in northern Gaza, with hundreds of thousands experiencing poor living conditions.
“Humanitarian partners working to provide shelter to people in Gaza reported that There were no tents and very few shelter items remaining for distribution,” OCHA said.
Camping on the road
“Those displaced from Rafah are currently Find shelter in Khan Younis and Deir Al-Balah on any available open landincluding access roads and farmland as well as damaged buildings that have not been structurally evaluated.”
So far, more than 75% of the Gaza Strip – about 285 square kilometers – is under evacuation orders amid escalating conflict, the UN agency said. “Under international humanitarian law, civilians – whether moving or staying – must be protected. Wherever they are in Gaza, their essential needs, including food, shelter, water and health, must be met.”
Non-stop violence
The escalating fighting has severely disrupted nutrition support services in the north and south, OCHA’s update continued, noting that more than 100 food distribution points in Rafah alone were lost. access.
Meanwhile, humanitarian partners work to provide water, sanitation and hygiene support in Gaza speak that there is a shortage of hygiene kits and water containers for households to collect and store water, which are vital for those forced to relocate.
More generally, OCHA warns, shortages of basic services after more than seven months of war have caused severe acute malnutrition among Gazans, exacerbating already serious concerns. about the “further increase” in infectious diseases and dangerous levels of hunger.
