WHO chief decries siege of Gaza hospital, urges immediate access for patients

GENEVA (AA): The head of the World Health Organization on Sunday voiced grave concerns over the deteriorating situation at a hospital in the southern Gaza Strip city of Khan Younis, stressing the urgent need for access to patients and medical facilities.

“Nasser hospital in Gaza is not functional anymore, after a weeklong siege followed by the ongoing raid,” Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus wrote on X.

Despite concerted efforts by a WHO team and its partners, access to the hospital for assessing patients and critical medical needs was denied, he underlined.

“Both yesterday and the day before, the WHO team was not permitted to enter the hospital to assess the conditions of the patients and critical medical needs, despite reaching the hospital compound to deliver fuel alongside partners,” he said.

According to Tedros, nearly 200 patients still remain within the hospital, with at least 20 needing immediate referral to other healthcare facilities “to receive health care; medical referral is every patient’s right.”

“The cost of delays will be paid by patients’ lives. Access to the patients and hospital should be facilitated,” he urged.

The Palestinian Health Ministry on Friday said at least five patients died at the hospital due to a power outage after the Israeli army raided the facility.

The Israeli army on Thursday stormed the hospital, forcing everyone inside to evacuate and flee for their lives. Yet a small medical team stayed inside to take care of patients in critical condition, who were all held in one building of the hospital by the Israeli army amid a lack of basic needs.

Since Jan. 22, Khan Younis has witnessed a massive Israeli ground invasion, forcing tens of thousands of the city’s residents to flee under heavy Israeli bombardment.

Israel has pounded the Gaza Strip since an Oct. 7 Hamas attack which killed some 1,200 people. The ensuing Israeli attack has killed at least 28,858 people, injuring more than 68,677 others and causing mass destruction and shortages of necessities.

Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.