GENEVA: The World Health Organization (WHO) announced the cancellation of a crucial mission to deliver medical supplies to northern Gaza, citing a lack of security guarantees. This marks the fourth time in less than three weeks that WHO had to abandon plans to provide urgently needed medical aid to Al-Awda Hospital and the central drug store in northern Gaza.
The situation in the region has been dire, with heavy Israeli bombardment, movement restrictions, and interrupted communications creating significant challenges in delivering medical supplies safely. The planned delivery on Sunday was intended to sustain the operations of five hospitals in the northern part of the enclave.
“It has now been 12 days since we were last able to reach northern Gaza,” stated the WHO office in the occupied Palestinian territories on the X social media platform. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus expressed shock at the scale of health needs and devastation in northern Gaza, emphasizing that further delays could result in more death and suffering for a significant number of people.
Meanwhile, the International Rescue Committee aid group reported that its emergency medical team, along with the Medical Aid for Palestinians charity, had been compelled to withdraw and cease activities at Al Aqsa Hospital in Gaza’s central area due to escalating Israeli military activity in the region.
The Israeli offensive since October 7 has led to the displacement of the majority of Gaza’s 2.3 million population. The ongoing Israeli bombardment has left most of the homes and civilian infrastructure in ruins, causing acute shortages of food, water, and medicine.
