Geneva, Dec 17 (UNI) A team led by the World Health Organisation (WHO) delivered medical aid to the Gaza Strip’s largest hospital, Shifa, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Sunday.
“A WHO-led team of UN experts reached Al-Shifa today to deliver essential medical supplies and assess priority health needs,” Ghebreyesus said on X.
He added that the hospital is trying to resume its activities, but the situation remains “unbelievably challenging and chaotic.”
“Gaza’s largest hospital is at the moment able to provide limited trauma stabilization and some dialysis support. Surgery is not yet possible; the hospital has no blood for transfusion, and hardly any staff to care for the constant flow of patients,” Ghebreyesus said.
Ghebreyesus noted that at the moment, only 8 hospitals out of 36 are partially operating in the Gaza Strip.
On October 7, Palestinian movement Hamas launched a large-scale rocket attack against Israel from the Gaza Strip across the border, killing over 1,200 people and abducting some 240 others. Israel launched retaliatory strikes, ordered a complete blockade of Gaza and launched a ground incursion into the Palestinian enclave with the declared goal of eliminating Hamas fighters and rescuing the hostages. Over 18,700 people have been killed so far in Gaza as a result of the conflict, according to local authorities.
