The scene after an Israeli strike at Al-Maghazi refugee camp in the Gaza Strip on December 25, 2023 (Photo: AFP/VNA)

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus called on the international community to take urgent measures to reduce the danger facing the people in Gaza and humanitarian staff who are there helping seriously injured people.

Dr. Tedros said 21 of 36 hospitals in Gaza are no longer functioning. This was confirmed by Sean Casey, WHO emergency medical team coordinator in Gaza.

“Across Gaza at the moment, health capacity is at about 20% of what it was 80 or so days ago, said Casey, adding, “So almost all of the hospital beds, almost all of the hospital services, have stopped functioning, either because the facilities themselves have been affected, because the staff have been forced to flee, because they've run out of power, or they've run out of medical supplies, and/or staff have not been able to access them.”

WHO reports say the need for food is acute across the Gaza Strip. Hungry people once again swarmed the convoys trying desperately to get some food. 

Dr Tedros said the safety of WHO staff and the continuity of operations depends on more food arriving throughout Gaza immediately. Phone and internet services have been cut all across Gaza, causing more difficulties for rescue efforts.

The latest data from the Gaza Health Authority show that, since the Hamas-Israel conflict broke out on October 7, 21,000 people have been killed and more than 54,000 injured in the Gaza Strip, most of them civilians.