“Hospitals in southern Gaza have only three days of fuel left, meaning they could soon stop functioning”writes Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
The fuel is primarily used to power the generators that provide hospitals with the electricity they need to operate.
“One of Rafah’s three hospitals, Al-Najjar, no longer functions due to ongoing fighting in its surroundings and the military operation in Rafah”underlined Doctor Tedros.
“The closure of the border post continues to prevent the UN from bringing in fuel. Without fuel, all humanitarian operations will stop”he warns, adding that “Border closures also hamper the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza”.
The Israeli army carried out deadly airstrikes and “targeted” operations on Wednesday in the town of Rafah, on the southern edge of the besieged Gaza Strip and threatened by a major ground offensive.
On Tuesday, the army took control of the Rafah crossing point, strategic for the transfer of humanitarian aid, before closing it, and continued to bombard the city.
Benjamin Netanyahu determined to launch ground assault on Rafah
“At a time when weakened humanitarian operations urgently need to be expanded, the Rafah military operation further limits our ability to reach thousands of people living in dire conditionswithout adequate food, sanitation, health services and security.”says the Director General of the WHO, before launching: “This must stop now”.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he is determined to launch a ground assault against Rafah, Israel’s last bastion of Hamas which he has sworn to annihilate.
Hamas carried out an unprecedented attack against Israel on October 7, 2023 from Gaza which left more than 1,170 dead, mainly civilians, according to an AFP report established from official data.
The Israeli response has been devastating: it has so far cost the lives of 34,844 people according to Hamas, caused a humanitarian catastrophe with a famine situation in the north according to the UN and colossal destruction.
