Israel army denies telling WHO to empty aid warehouse in southern Gaza

The Israeli army on Tuesday denied telling the World Health Organization to empty an aid warehouse in southern Gaza within 24 hours before ground operations in the area render it unusable. “The truth is that we didn’t ask you to evacuate the warehouses and we also made it clear (and in writing) to the relevant #UN representatives,” the Israeli defence ministry body responsible for Palestinian civilian affairs, COGAT said on X, formerly Twitter. “From a #UN official we would expect, at least, to be more accurate,” it added. WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus wrote on X on Monday: “Today, WHO received notification from the Israel Defence Forces that we should remove our supplies from our medical warehouse in southern Gaza within 24 hours, as ground operations will put it beyond use”. “We appeal to Israel to withdraw the order, and take every possible measure to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure, including hospitals and humanitarian facilities,” he wrote. Hamas militants from Gaza launched an unprecedented attack on southern Israel on October 7, killing about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking around 240 hostages, according to Israeli officials. Israeli tanks enter south Gaza, Palestinians flee but ‘there is no safe place’ In response, Israel vowed to destroy Hamas and has conducted a relentless air, artillery and naval bombardment alongside a ground offensive, killing around 15,900 people, mostly women and children, according to the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza. Israel’s army on Monday sent dozens of tanks into southern Gaza as part of expanded action against Hamas, as communications were cut across the besieged territory. The number of operational hospitals in Gaza has dropped from 36 to 18 in less than 60 days, according to the WHO, with three providing only basic first aid and others offering partial services. Twelve hospitals still remain operational in the southern part of the Gaza Strip, according to the WHO. At a press conference earlier on Monday, the WHO regional director for the eastern Mediterranean, Ahmed al-Mandhari, said the intensification of military ground operations in southern Gaza risked depriving thousands of people of healthcare. “We saw what happened in the north of Gaza. This cannot serve as a model for the south,” he said. Meanwhile on Monday, the president of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) arrived Gaza, describing the human suffering as “immense” and calling for a “political solution” to end the fighting in the Palestinian territory. Mirjana Spoljaric said the organisation would “do its utmost to help alleviate and reduce the suffering but we can’t do this alone”. “There’s not only a humanitarian solution to this, there must be a political one,” she said in a video message from Gaza. The ICRC said Spoljaric’s travel to the region would be in several stages with “a visit to Israel expected over the coming weeks”. Spoljaric, whose organisation has faced criticism from both sides in the conflict for not providing adequate help to Israeli hostages held by Hamas and to Palestinian prisoners held by Israel, insisted that “all those deprived of liberty must be treated humanely”. “The hostages must be released, and the ICRC must be allowed to safely visit them,” she said. Her visit comes after full-scale fighting resumed on Friday following the collapse of a week-long truce brokered by Qatar, the United States and Egypt, during which Israel and Hamas exchanged scores of hostages and prisoners. “I’m calling on parties and everyone who has an influence to de-escalate and to find other than military solutions to what is an immense suffering of the people on both sides,” Spoljaric said. “I’ve just visited the European Gaza hospital and the things I saw there are beyond anything that anyone should be in a position to describe,” she said. “What shocked me the most were the children with atrocious injuries and at the same time having lost their parents with no one looking after them.” ICC prosecutor vows to ‘further intensify’ Gaza investigation Spoljaric said the purpose of her visit was “to advance efforts that alleviate the desperate humanitarian situation”. “We have urgently appealed for civilian life to be protected and respected on all sides, in line with international humanitarian law, and I reiterate that appeal today,” Spoljaric said, insisting that “an unimpeded and regular flow of aid must be allowed to enter Gaza”. Spoljaric added that the number of ICRC and United Nations employees killed during Israel’s assault was “unacceptable”. The ICRC said that during her visit to Gaza, Spoljaric would also spend time with the organisation’s team on the ground and “visit the European Hospital, where ICRC medical teams have been conducting life-saving surgery alongside local healthcare workers”.

Israel army denies telling WHO to empty aid warehouse in southern Gaza

WHO chief sounds alarm about an impending humanitarian crisis as Israel expands war against Hamas Red Cross chief arrives in Gaza, calls for political solution to end the fighting in the Palestinian territory

WHO chief sounds alarm about an impending humanitarian crisis as Israel expands war against Hamas

Red Cross chief arrives in Gaza, calls for political solution to end the fighting in the Palestinian territory