WHO urges cease-fire to protect Gaza’s collapsing health system amid rising trauma cases

LONDON

World Health Organization (WHO) chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus reiterated his call Wednesday for an immediate and unconditional cease-fire, stressing that it is the only viable solution to protect the Gaza Strip’s collapsing health care system. 

“Lives depend on it,” Tedros wrote on X. “As the situation continues to worsen across the Strip, especially in the north, keeping hospitals functional is of utmost importance.”

The Kamal Adwan Hospital, one of the primary health care facilities in northern Gaza, is facing a relentless wave of trauma patients due to hostilities, a recent WHO assessment revealed.

With only one pediatrician, one orthopedic surgeon and a limited nursing staff, the hospital is struggling to provide basic care as it battles severe shortages of medical personnel and supplies, it said.

The situation is exacerbated by extensive structural damage from recent attacks that destroyed the hospital’s four ambulances, WHO reported.

Despite the urgent need for medical services in the northern region, hospital resources have been stretched to the breaking point.

In response, the WHO coordinated the transfer of 23 critical patients and 21 companions from Kamal Adwan to the Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City.

To help sustain other struggling facilities in Gaza City, the WHO delivered 40,000 liters of fuel and medical supplies to six hospitals in the area, yet the demand continues to far outpace available resources, according to Tedros.

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