Anjali Sharma
GG News Bureau
UNITED NATIONS, 13th Feb. WHO head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Monday said that the humanitarian crisis in Gaza is still not over with anywhere near sufficient aid relief.
He praised the release of two hostages have been rescued during a raid by Israeli special forces in Rafah city,
“So far, we have delivered 447 metric tons of medical supplies to Gaza, but it’s a drop in the ocean of need, which continues to grow every day,” said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Tedros said only 15 out of 36 hospitals are still “partially or minimally functional” in Gaza
Tedros said fresh reports of continuing intense bombardment by the Israeli military in southern Gaza that accompanied the rescue mission of two Israeli male hostages from the second floor of a building in Rafah.
“Health workers are doing their best in impossible circumstances,” he said.
He echoed widespread concerns among the international community about recent attacks on Rafah, “where the majority of Gaza’s population has fled from the destruction to the north”.
According to the Israeli authorities, 134 Israelis and foreign nationals remain captive in Gaza; these reportedly include fatalities whose bodies are being withheld.
The agency noted that during a humanitarian pause in the fighting from 24 to 30 November, 86 Israeli and 24 foreign national hostages were released.
“WHO continues to call for safe access for humanitarian personnel and supplies, we continue to call for hostages held by Hamas to be released and we continue to call for a ceasefire,” Tedros said, in his address to the World Governments Summit in Dubai.
UN agency for Palestinian refugees reported that a food shipment for 1.1 million people remained “stuck at (an) Israeli port” owing to recent restrictions imposed by the Israeli authorities.
“Some 1,049 containers of rice, flour, chickpeas, sugar and cooking oil are stuck as families in Gaza face hunger and starvation,” the UN agency said in a tweet.
Over 1.5 million people shelter in Rafah, close to the border with Egypt. This is a six times the pre-war population, UNWRA noted, in its latest update on the war.
UN agency reported that intense deadly fighting has continued in and around Khan Younis north, with damage to UNWRA’s largest shelter in the south of Gaza, Khan Younis Training Centre, which has pushed thousands more Palestinians towards Rafah.
UNRWA “will not be able to effectively or safely run operations from a city under assault from the Israeli army,” Thomas White, Director of UNRWA Affairs in Gaza.said.
He highlighted the desperate need for more humanitarian aid deliveries into Gaza.
UN agency noted that the Kerem Shalom crossing from Israel had remained closed since Wednesday 7 February because protesters had continued to block it.
UNWRA situation report noted that “Critical supplies to meet food insecurity continue to be blocked due to lack of Israeli authorities’ approvals to move flour from the Israeli port of Ashdod into the Gaza.”
