Following Israel’s bombardment of Gaza last month, the World HealthOrganization (WHO) link a statement warning of“staggering health needs” in the Palestinian territories.
“WHO is scaling up its response to provide health aid for almost 200,000people in need across …. Palestine,” WHO’s Eastern Mediterranean regionaloffice said in a statement.
“The situation is volatile. WHO remains concerned… and calls for unhinderedaccess for humanitarian and development-related essential supplies andstaff into Gaza and referral of patients out of Gaza whenever needed,”warned the WHO’s Rik Peeperkorn.
Last month, tensions between Israel and the Palestinians reached a breakingpoint, culminating in an 11-day exchange of rocket fire from Gaza andcatastrophic Israeli airstrikes.
According to local sources, Israeli attacks on the enclave killed 254Palestinians, including 66 children and several warriors.
Twelve people were killed in Israel as a result of a Palestinian terroristfire, including a toddler, a teenager, and an Israeli soldier.
“Over 77,000 people were internally displaced and around 30 healthfacilities have been damaged” in the hostilities, the WHO statement said.
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Since Hamas took control of Gaza in 2007, Israel has imposed a land andmaritime embargo on the poor and densely populated enclave, which is hometo nearly two million Palestinians.
Gaza’s sole non-Israeli route to the outside world is Egypt’s tightlyguarded Rafah border.
“Palestinians’ lives are deteriorating; many of the people affected by theconflict are in urgent need of aid and face other health threats likeCOVID-19,” Peeperkorn said.
The global health body said that as of May 31, “337,191 confirmed cases ofCOVID-19 and 3,765 deaths have been reported in OPT, with positive casesincreasing in Gaza in recent weeks”.
It claimed it issued a $7 million appeal last month to assist shore up itshealth operations in the Palestinian Territories, but only got $2.3 millionin response.
