Health system in Gaza is 'on its knees,' WHO chief tells UN Security Council

By Iclal Turan

WASHINGTON (AA) - WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Friday that half of the hospitals in Gaza are non-operational, stressing that the health system in the Palestinian enclave is "on its knees".

"Half of the Gaza Strip’s 36 hospitals and two-thirds of its primary health care centres are not functioning at all. Those that are functioning are operating way beyond their capacities," he told a UN Security Council session on the Israel-Palestine conflict.

"The health system is on its knees, and yet somehow is continuing to deliver lifesaving care," he added.

According to the WHO chief, the best way to support the health workers and the people they serve is by giving them the tools they need to deliver that care – medicines, medical equipment and fuel for hospital generators."

"Field hospitals and emergency medical teams can complement and support existing hospitals and health workers in Gaza, but they cannot replace them," he added.

The WHO chief said a child is killed every 10 minutes in Gaza on average, adding that 1.5 million people have been displaced, and are looking for shelter anywhere they can find it.

"But nowhere and no one is safe," he said.

"As more and more people move to a smaller and smaller space, overcrowding is increasing the risks of outbreaks of diarrheal and respiratory disease and skin infections," he added.

Four hospitals, representing some 430 beds, have been "put out of action" in the past 48 hours, according to the WHO chief.

More than 100 UN staff have been killed, he added.