WHO Operations Compromised in Gaza After Attacks on Warehouse and Staff Residence

Attacks on WHO Facilities and Staff

• 💥 WHO operations in Gaza have been severely compromised following intensified hostilities and evacuation orders in Deir al Balah.
• 🏠 The WHO staff residence, housing national staff and their families, was attacked three times, causing significant damage and exposing personnel, including children, to grave danger.
• 🚶‍♀️ Israeli military entered the premises, forcing women and children to evacuate on foot, while male staff and family members were detained, interrogated, and screened at gunpoint.
• 🚨 Two WHO staff members and two male family members were detained, with one staff member remaining in detention.
• 🌃 Due to intensified hostilities, 43 staff and their families were relocated from residences to the WHO office in darkness and significant risk.

Warehouse Destruction and Supply Chain Impact

• 🏭 WHO's main warehouse in Deir al Balah, located within an evacuation zone, was damaged and destroyed by an attack causing explosions and fire.
• 📉 This destruction is seen as part of a pattern of systematic destruction of health facilities and is believed to have been looted by desperate crowds.
• 💊 With the main warehouse non-functional and the majority of medical supplies depleted, WHO is severely constrained in supporting hospitals and health partners already critically short on essential items.
• 📦 Substantial medical supplies, including trauma and surgical items, essential medicines, and therapeutic milk, were destroyed in the warehouse.

WHO's Response and Calls to Action

• 🌍 Despite the attacks, WHO stresses its commitment to remain on the ground, deliver, and expand operations in Gaza.
• 🤝 WHO urgently calls on Member States to increase support and ensure a sustained, regular flow of medical supplies into Gaza.
• 🕊️ WHO calls for the immediate release of the detained staff member and the protection of all its staff and premises.
• 🏥 The organization reiterates its call for the active protection of civilians, healthcare, its premises, and for the rapid and unimpeded flow of aid.

Broader Health Crisis in Gaza

• 📉 Malnutrition levels have significantly increased among under-fives and pregnant/lactating women, a problem that was not an issue before the crisis.
• 🏥 Approximately 17-18 hospitals are partly to minimally functional, with major referral hospitals like Nasser Medical Complex constantly within or bordering evacuation zones.
• 🩹 Hospitals are overwhelmed, functioning as massive trauma wards with improvised intensive care units, and patients being treated on floors.
• ⚠️ Injuries are horrific, with many young boys and men shot in the head, neck, chest, abdomen, and knees, often while attempting to access food or aid.
• 🆘 The most needed items are food to flood the market, water supplies, regular medical supplies, and fuel, alongside humanitarian corridors and a ceasefire.