WHO chief warns no functional hospital exists in north Gaza

An injured man is transferred to a hospital in central Gaza Strip city of Deir el-Balah, on Dec. 19, 2023. (Xinhua)

The Al-Ahli Arab Hospital's operating theaters are no longer functioning due to the depletion, or complete absence, of specialists, power, fuel, water, food and medical supplies, Tedros wrote on X (formerly Twitter).

GENEVA, Dec. 21 (Xinhua) -- The last hospital that can perform surgery in northern Gaza stopped functioning, the World Health Organization's (WHO) director-general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said on Wednesday.

The Al-Ahli Arab Hospital's operating theaters are no longer functioning due to the depletion, or complete absence, of specialists, power, fuel, water, food and medical supplies, Tedros wrote on X (formerly Twitter).

"That has left north Gaza with no functional hospital. Only four hospitals operate at a minimum level, providing very limited care," he added.

An injured man is transferred to a hospital in the southern Gaza Strip city of Khan Younis, on Dec. 8, 2023. (Photo by Yasser Qudih/Xinhua)

In a joint mission to Al-Ahli Arab and Al-Shifa hospitals in northern Gaza on Wednesday, the WHO and other United Nations agencies delivered medicines, IV fluids and supplies for surgery, treating the wounded, and supporting women giving birth.

"Only nine out of 36 health facilities are partially functional for the whole of Gaza. All of these in the south," Richard Peeperkorn, WHO representative on the occupied Palestinian territory, told a press conference via video link on Thursday.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the World Health Organization (WHO), attends a press briefing at the WHO headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, Dec. 15, 2023. Tedros reiterated his call for an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. (Xinhua/Lian Yi)

The minimally functioning Al-Ahli and three other hospitals are still treating patients but not admitting new ones, Peeperkorn said, adding that these hospitals are still sheltering thousands of displaced people.

About 10 health workers continue to provide basic first aid, pain management and wound care, according to Tedros.

The WHO chief again appealed for a humanitarian ceasefire to stop the bloodshed and death.