WHO chief concerned over Israel's orders to evacuate Nasser Hospital in Gaza's Khan Younis city

By Ahmet Gencturk

ATHENS (AA) – The World Health Organization (WHO) chief on Wednesday expressed deep concern over Israel's orders to evacuate the Nasser Hospital, the main hospital in Khan Younis city in the Gaza Strip, which has been used as a shelter by Palestinians and is currently under Israeli siege.

“Civilians killed, orders to evacuate people seeking shelter, the northern wall demolished: I am alarmed by what is reportedly happening at Nasser Medical Complex in #Gaza after being under siege for around a week,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a statement on X.

Hostilities have reportedly destroyed storage facilities for medical equipment and supplies, he said, adding, “Access to the hospital remains obstructed — there is no safe corridor for those in need.”

“Two @WHO missions have been denied in the last four days and we lost touch with the hospital’s personnel.”

“We have seen before how depriving hospitals of resources and access halts lifesaving services. Nasser is the backbone of the health system in southern Gaza. It must be protected. Humanitarian access must be allowed,” he added.

Without mentioning Israel’s name, Ghebreyesus urged, “Hospitals must be safeguarded so that they can serve their life-saving function. They must not be militarized or attacked.”

Since Jan. 22, the Khan Younis city has seen an Israeli massive ground invasion, forcing tens of thousands of the city's residents to flee their areas under heavy Israeli bombing.

Israel has pounded the Gaza Strip since an Oct. 7 attack by the Palestinian group Hamas, killing at least 28,576 people and injuring 68,291 others. Around 1,200 Israelis are believed to have been killed in the initial Hamas attack.

The Israeli war on Gaza has pushed 85% of the territory's population into internal displacement amid acute shortages of food, clean water, and medicine, while 60% of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, which in 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.