WHO chief: Israeli forces attacked staff residence in Gaza

Israeli forces attacked the staff residence of the World Health Organization (WHO) in Gaza three times on Monday, along with its main warehouse, and detained staff and family members, Anadolu Ajansi reported, citing the head of the UN agency.

WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a statement that the attacks targeted the staff residence in Deir al-Balah.

“The Israeli military entered the premises, forcing women and children to evacuate on foot towards Al-Mawasi amid active conflict,” he said.

Tedros said male staff and family members were handcuffed, stripped, interrogated on the spot, and screened at gunpoint, adding that two WHO staff and two family members were detained.

Three were later released, but one staff member remains in detention, he said, adding that 32 WHO staff and family members were evacuated to the WHO office once access became possible.

“WHO demands the immediate release of the detained staff and the protection of all its personnel.”

Expressing concern over the latest Israeli evacuation order in Deir al-Balah, Tedros underlined that it has affected several WHO premises, compromising the agency’s ability to operate in Gaza and pushing the health system further towards collapse.

“WHO’s main warehouse, located in Deir al-Balah, is within the evacuation zone and was damaged yesterday when an attack caused explosions and a fire inside,” he recalled.

“WHO urgently calls on Member States to help ensure a sustained and regular flow of medical supplies into Gaza,” he said, stressing that compromising WHO’s operations is crippling the entire health response in Gaza.

“A ceasefire is not just necessary - it is overdue,” he added.

Dire situation

UN said 87.7 percent of the Gaza Strip lies within Israeli militarised zones, under displacement orders, or in areas where the two overlap.

Citing the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (Ocha), UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told a news conference that “87.7 percent of Gaza is now under displacement orders or within displacement zones, squeezing about 2.1 million people into a fragmented area of the Strip where hardly any services are available”.

Emphasising that more than 1.3 million people in Gaza are in need of shelter and household items, Dujarric said: “Harsh weather, humidity, overcrowding and frequent disassembly and reassembly of tents and tarpaulins lead to a shorter lifespan for shelter items.”

He highlighted the “dire” situation in the enclave, where no shelter supplies have entered for more than four months.

“The fuel crisis continues. The limited quantities that have been allowed to enter Gaza in recent days are hardly sufficient,” he said, adding that the UN is prioritising the use of available fuel for “the most critical operations.”

Dujarric also emphasised the “deeply concerning reports of severely malnourished people who are arriving at medical points and hospitals in extremely poor health” amid ongoing Israeli attacks.

“Yesterday, the Health Ministry reported that more than a dozen people, including children, have reportedly died from hunger in the last 24 hours,” he said, describing the situation on the ground as “nearly impossible”.

According to the Gaza Health Ministry, 86 people - including 76 children - have died from hunger and dehydration since October 2023. Gaza’s government media office warned the enclave is “on the brink of mass death” after over 140 days of a near-total closure of all crossings.

- Bernama

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