WHO chief says north Gaza in 'catastrophic' danger

The World Health Organization chief warned Saturday of a disastrous situation in the north of war-ravaged Gaza, with "intensive military operations unfolding around and within healthcare facilities".

"The situation in northern Gaza is catastrophic," Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on X, warning that "a critical shortage of medical supplies, compounded by severely limited access, are depriving people of life saving care."

He highlighted Kamal Adwan, northern Gaza's last functioning hospital, which was stormed by Israeli forces on Friday, according to Gaza's health ministry.

The ministry charged that the raid on the facility in the Jabalia camp, where Israel launched a major operation earlier this month, left two children dead.

It accused Israeli forces of detaining hundreds of staff, patients and displaced people during the raid.

The Israeli military said its forces were operating around Kamal Adwan, but was "not aware of live fire and strikes in the area of the hospital".

Tedros said that the Gaza health ministry had informed WHO, which had temporarily lost contact with its staff at the hospital, that the siege had ended.

"But it came at a heavy cost," he said.

Late Friday, WHO said three health workers and another employee were injured in the assault and that dozens of health workers were detained at the hospital, where around 600 patients, health workers and others were sheltering.

"Following the detention of 44 male staff members, only female staff, the hospital director, and one male doctor are left to care for nearly 200 patients in desperate need of medical attention," Tedros said Saturday.

"Reports of the hospital facilities and medical supplies being damaged or destroyed during the siege are deplorable," he said.

- MSF surgeon missing -

Medical charity MSF meanwhile said that one of its surgeons at the hospital was missing.

"We are deeply concerned for the safety and whereabouts of Dr. Mohammed Obeid, an MSF orthopaedic surgeon who was sheltering and working in Kamal Adwan Hospital," MSF said on X, adding that it had not had contact with him since Friday.

"We are trying to get in touch with our colleague and are urgently seeking information about his whereabouts," it said.

"We call for his safety and protection, as well as to all medical staff in Gaza."

Tedros lamented that "the whole health system in Gaza has been under attack for over a year", since Hamas's October 7, 2023 attacks inside Israel sparked the war.

That attack resulted in the deaths of 1,206 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures. Dozens of hostages are still held by militants in Gaza.

Israel's retaliatory campaign has killed 42,924 people in Gaza, the majority civilians, according to figures from the Hamas-run territory's health ministry which the United Nations considers reliable.

"WHO cannot stress loudly enough that hospitals must be shielded from conflict at all times," Tedros said, saying that "any attack of healthcare facilities is a violation of international humanitarian law".

"The only path to safeguarding what remains of Gaza's collapsing health care system is an immediate and unconditional ceasefire."