WHO warns of ‘devastating consequences’ due to delayed aid entry into Gaza

The WHO’s representative in Palestine calls on Israeli authorities to “release the pressure on medical supplies”.

Trucks loaded with humanitarian aid wait at the Rafah crossing for access to the Gaza Strip [File: AFP]

Repeated delays in bringing life-saving medicines, prosthetics and other supplies from Israel into Gaza risk having “devastating consequences” for Palestinians who urgently need them, the World Health Organization (WHO) has said.

Approved aid can enter Gaza only through Kerem Shalom, at the southern tip of the territory, while Rafah, also in the south, is open only for limited movement of people, including patients needing medical treatment abroad, the WHO said on Friday.

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“A truck full of non-priority supplies or the right supplies arriving too late , doesn’t save lives. That’s the question that actually matters,” Reinhilde Van De Weerdt, the WHO’s representative in Palestine, said.

Van De Weerdt called on Israeli authorities to “release the pressure on medical supplies”, saying essential medicines “should not be considered as dual use, as they are globally accepted standards on medical items anybody needs anywhere to run a hospital or a clinic”.

She added that one shipment of prosthetics and assistive devices had been rejected four times over the past six months.

“Every rejection means another delay for someone who has already lost a limb and is simply waiting for the chance to walk again,” she said, noting that medicines “by contrast, move relatively well”, with almost 87 percent approved and just over 1 percent rejected.

“Our ask is simple and has not changed: we need the unimpeded and predictable entry of humanitarian and health supplies into Gaza at scale. We also need a multi-crossing model so that aid isn’t forced to trickle down through a limited number of crossings,” Van De Weerdt said.

Four other main entry points into Gaza – Kissufim, Gate 96, Erez and Erez West – remain closed and under total Israeli control.

She praised the “extraordinary health workers” still risking their lives in Gaza, who she said were not receiving enough supplies to give patients the care they needed.

Winter and disease risk

“As winter begins, this urgency to get supplies into Gaza only deepens,” Van De Weerdt said. “Almost two million people are in need of shelter to protect against the cold and the risk of flooding, exposing people to serious health and safety risks, let alone their dignity.”

She said residents faced a heightened risk of preventable disease outbreaks linked to the lack of safe shelter and clean water, and a high number of rats whose bites transmit infection, a threat made harder to track by the destruction of public health laboratories.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) warned on Thursday of serious public health risks from the accumulation of solid waste in Gaza City, where sanitation gains remain fragile because of a lack of reliable access to heavy machinery, engine oil, spare parts and fuel funding.

Almost 12 months into a fragile “ceasefire” between Hamas and Israel, marked by continuing Israeli air attacks and other military activity, Gaza’s humanitarian situation remains “overwhelming”, according to OCHA.

世界卫生组织驻巴勒斯坦代表呼吁以色列当局“放松对医疗物资的压力”。

满载人道主义援助物资的卡车在拉法过境点等待进入加沙地带。[图片：法新社]

世界卫生组织（世卫组织）表示，从以色列向加沙运送救命药品、假肢和其他物资的延误屡次发生，可能会给急需这些物资的巴勒斯坦人带来“毁灭性后果”。

世界卫生组织周五表示，经批准的援助物资只能通过加沙地带最南端的凯雷姆沙洛姆进入加沙，而同样位于南部的拉法只允许有限的人员流动，包括需要出国就医的患者。

以色列前谈判代表称，以色列本可以更早结束加沙战争，释放人质（共4条，第1条）

以色列将军（共4条）称：加沙人质本可于一年前获释。

以色列空袭加沙城公寓，造成至少五人死亡（共四起，此为第三起）

名单4/4：一名联合国粮农组织官员称，他因批评以色列在加沙的政策而丢了工作。

“一辆满载非优先物资的卡车，或者正确的物资到达得太晚，都救不了生命。这才是真正重要的问题，”世界卫生组织驻巴勒斯坦代表雷恩希尔德·范德维尔特说。

范德维尔特呼吁以色列当局“放松对医疗用品的压力”，称基本药物“不应被视为双重用途，因为它们是全球公认的医疗用品标准，任何人在任何地方运营医院或诊所都需要这些用品”。

她补充说，过去六个月里，有一批假肢和辅助设备被拒收了四次。

“每一次拒绝都意味着失去肢体、正在等待重新行走机会的人又要等待一次机会，”她说道，并指出药物“相比之下进展得相对顺利”，近 87% 的药物获得批准，只有略高于 1% 的药物被拒绝。

“我们的诉求很简单，而且从未改变：我们需要人道主义援助和医疗物资能够畅通无阻、大规模地进入加沙。我们还需要建立多通道运输模式，这样援助物资就不会被迫通过数量有限的过境点缓慢输送，”范德维尔特说。

进入加沙的其他四个主要入口——基苏菲姆、96号门、埃雷兹和埃雷兹西——仍然关闭，并完全处于以色列的控制之下。

她赞扬了仍在加沙冒着生命危险的“杰出医护人员”，并表示他们没有得到足够的物资来为病人提供所需的护理。

冬季与疾病风险

“随着冬季的到来，向加沙运送物资的紧迫性也日益凸显，”范德维尔特说。“近两百万人需要住所来抵御严寒和洪水的威胁，这不仅使他们面临严重的健康和安全风险，也损害了他们的尊严。”

她说，由于缺乏安全的住所和清洁的水，居民面临着可预防疾病爆发的更高风险，而且老鼠数量众多，老鼠的叮咬会传播感染，而公共卫生实验室的破坏使这种威胁更难追踪。

联合国人道主义事务协调厅（OCHA）周四警告称，加沙城固体废物的堆积将带来严重的公共卫生风险。由于缺乏可靠的重型机械、发动机油、零部件和燃料资金，加沙的卫生改善成果仍然脆弱。

据联合国人道主义事务协调厅称，哈马斯和以色列之间脆弱的“停火”已经持续了近 12 个月，但以色列的空袭和其他军事活动仍在继续，加沙的人道主义局势仍然“令人震惊”。