WHO voices concern over fighting spreads into Gaza hospitals ‘no way in and out’

Anjali Sharma
GG News Bureau
UNITED NATIONS, 24th Jan. World health agency on Tuesday expressed its deep concern over the heavy fighting in Gaza spreading into hospitals in the southern city of Khan Younis, for patients and others seeking treatment who had “no way in and out”.

Christian Lindmeier, spokesperson for the WHO confirmed that Al-Khair Hospital was “one of the two hospitals that is now being raided”, while Nasser Hospital was “now basically besieged around the hospital and has no way in and out”.

“I know it must be a horrible scenario on the ground there with people not knowing what the next minutes will bring.”

He added that only 14 hospitals are still functioning in Gaza 7 in the north and 7 in the south – where health needs are overwhelmed after three months of heavy bombardment by Israeli Defense Forces, triggered by Hamas-led terror attacks in Israel that left some 1,200 dead and 250 taken hostage.

WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus issued an alert on X, about reports of “continuous fighting” near hospitals in Kheir Younis, where violence prevented “newly injured people outside the hospitals from being reached and receiving care”.

The situation is “absolutely unacceptable and not what any health facility anywhere in the world should go through”, Mr. Lindmeier stated.

He noted that some 20 hospitals no longer function across Gaza.

Mr. Lindmeier underscored the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza.

He described how desperate and hungry Gazans have become, in their search for food.

“One of the convoys had mainly fuel for hospitals on it but the people were holding it up as multiple times it was trying to move forward and trying to leave and trying to get onto the road because they were so desperate looking for food.”

WFP warned that over half a million people in Gaza continue to face “catastrophic food insecurity levels”.

Abeer Etefa, WFP’s Middle East and North Africa Senior Communications Officer and spokesperson said the risk of famine increases each day as conflict continues to limit the delivery of lifesaving food assistance.

“It is the largest concentration of people in what looks like famine-like conditions anywhere in the world. And also how fast we got to this point is extremely concerning.”

She noted that children who had been evacuated for treatment on the Egyptian side of the border appeared malnourished, underweight and “extremely thin”.

Abeer Etefa added: “If we don’t have a more humanitarian pause, a ceasefire, more access to people, we’re going to see, you know, these people are starving already and they will be in a very difficult situation.”