GAZA CITY: The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that Israel’s evacuation order for Gaza amounts to a “death sentence” for vulnerable hospital patients. WHO spokesperson Tarik Jasarevic revealed that health authorities in Gaza have deemed it impossible to evacuate critically ill patients within the 24-hour deadline mandated by Israel’s military.
“There are critically ill people whose injuries mean their only chances of survival are being on life support, such as mechanical ventilators,” the WHO spokesperson said. “So moving those critically ill people is a death sentence. Asking health workers to do so is beyond cruel.”
Israel’s military had issued an evacuation order, requiring 1.1 million innocent Palestinians trapped in Gaza to move south within 24 hours, anticipating a possible Israeli military’s ground offensive on the enclave. However, the United Nations has deemed the relocation of such a vast number of people as “impossible” and warned of potentially devastating consequences. The European Union’s top diplomat, Josep Borrell, labeled Israel’s directive as “utterly unrealistic.”
In defiance of Israel’s order, Hamas, the governing body of Gaza, urged residents to disregard the directive, denouncing it as “fake propaganda.”
🚨@WHO warns that the health system in the Gaza Strip is at a 𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭.
Time is running out to prevent a humanitarian catastrophe.@WHO calls for the immediate establishment of a humanitarian corridor.
Read our statement 👇https://t.co/U6wCNrR6tx pic.twitter.com/lzgk99xamf
— WHO in occupied Palestinian territory (@WHOoPt) October 12, 2023
WHO Sounds Alarm About Hospitals in Gaza
The WHO had previously sounded the alarm, stating that hospitals in Gaza were at a “breaking point” and called for the establishment of a humanitarian corridor to allow the entry of health workers and facilitate the evacuation of the sick and injured. Jasarevic highlighted the dire situation, noting that hospitals in Gaza have only a few hours of electricity each day and are reliant on generators to power critical functions. Patients in intensive care units and newborns are among the most vulnerable.
WHO: Hospitals in Gaza are at a breaking point, and the access of medical emergency teams to the field faces severe obstacles due to the damage of infrastructure.
The World Health Organization has documented 34 attacks on healthcare facilities in Gaza since last Saturday,… pic.twitter.com/tD9rOTSqhD
— State of Palestine – MFA 🇵🇸🇵🇸 (@pmofa) October 13, 2023
“Time is running out to prevent a humanitarian catastrophe. If fuel, water, food, and life-saving health and humanitarian supplies cannot be urgently delivered to the Gaza Strip amidst the complete blockage,” Jasarevic warned, “the situation could lead to devastating consequences.”
