Attacks on health care in Gaza Strip unacceptable, says WHO
4 November 2023 — WHO condemns the attacks on 3 November near Al-Shifa Hospital, Al-Quds Hospital, and the Indonesian Hospital in Gaza City and North Gaza governorates.
According to reports, at Al-Shifa Hospital, ambulances were evacuating critically injured and sick patients to hospitals in the south of the Gaza Strip when there was an attack at the entrance of the hospital. According to early reports, at least thirteen people were killed and more than 60 injured. The hospital infrastructure and one ambulance sustained damage. This was in addition to an earlier incident that had resulted in damage to another ambulance in the same convoy.
The Palestinian Ministry of Health had earlier sent an appeal for the safe passage of a convoy of ambulances carrying wounded and sick patients from the hospital, in an effort to reduce the strain on the hospital, which is already far exceeding its bed capacity while also sheltering thousands of displaced people.
Two further attacks were reported on the same day at Al-Quds Hospital, resulting in at least 21 injuries. An additional attack was reported near the Indonesian Hospital.
Attacks on health care, including the targeting of hospitals and restricting the delivery of essential aid such as medical supplies, fuel, and water, may amount to violations of International Humanitarian Law.
WHO reiterates its call for an immediate ceasefire, emphasizing the urgent need to protect all health workers, patients, health transport, and health facilities.
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Risk of disease spread soars in Gaza as health facilities, water and sanitation systems disrupted
8 November 2023 – As deaths and injuries in Gaza continue to rise due to intensified hostilities, intense overcrowding and disrupted health, water, and sanitation systems pose an added danger: the rapid spread of infectious diseases. Some worrying trends are already emerging.
Lack of fuel has led to the shutting down of desalination plants, significantly increasing the risk of bacterial infections like diarrhea spreading as people consume contaminated water. Lack of fuel has also disrupted all solid waste collection, creating an environment conducive to the rapid and widespread proliferation of insects, rodents that can carry and transit diseases.
The situation is particularly concerning for almost 1.5 million displaced people across Gaza, especially those living in severely overcrowded shelters with poor access to hygiene facilities and safe water, increasing risk of infectious diseases transmission. UNRWA, WHO, and the Ministry of Health are scaling up a flexible disease surveillance system in many of these shelters and health facilities. The current disease trends are very concerning.
Since mid-October 2023, over 33,551 cases of diarrhea have been reported. Over half of these are among children under age five -- a significant increase compared to an average of 2000 cases monthly in children under five throughout 2021 and 2022. 8944 cases of scabies and lice, 1005 cases of chickenpox, 12635 cases of skin rash and 54,866 cases of upper respiratory infections have also been reported.
Disrupted routine vaccination activities, as well as lack of medicines for treating communicable diseases, further increase the risk of accelerated disease spread. This is compounded by incomplete coverage of the disease surveillance system, including early disease detection and response capacities. Limited internet connectivity and phone system functioning further constrains our ability to detect potential outbreaks early and respond effectively.
In health facilities, damaged water and sanitation systems, and dwindling cleaning supplies have made it almost impossible to maintain basic infection prevention and control measures. These developments substantially increase the risk of infections arising from trauma, surgery, wound care and childbirth. Immunosuppressed individuals, such as patients with cancer, are especially at risk of complicating infections. Insufficient personal protective equipment means that health care workers themselves can acquire and transmit infections while providing care to their patients. The management of medical waste at hospitals has been severely disrupted, further increasing exposure to hazardous materials and infection.
WHO calls for urgent, accelerated access for humanitarian aid – including fuel, water, food, and medical supplies – into and throughout the Gaza Strip. All parties to the conflict must abide by their obligations under international humanitarian law to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure, including health care. WHO calls for the unconditional release of all hostages and a humanitarian ceasefire to prevent further death and suffering.
Note to editors
Out of almost 1.5 million displaced people, nearly 725,000 are in 149 UNRWA facilities, 122,000 are sheltering in hospitals, churches, and other public buildings, and about 131,134 in 94 non-UNRWA schools and remainder in host families.
Thousands of people are also forced to seek safety and shelter in streets near hospitals, UN offices and public shelters, putting pressure on already overstretched facilities.
Prior to the escalation of hostilities, respiratory diseases were the sixth most common cause of death in the Gaza Strip. In 2022, almost 82,000 cases of COVID-19 were reported in the Gaza strip, resulting in over 400 deaths.
As people face food shortages, malnutrition, and impending colder weather, they will be even more susceptible to contracting diseases. This is especially concerning for the more than 50,000 pregnant women and approximately 337,000 children under the age of five currently in Gaza.
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Children with cancer evacuated from Gaza for treatment to Egypt and Jordan
WHO, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and key countries coordinate vital humanitarian action amidst ongoing conflict
10 November 2023, Some 12 children with cancer or other blood disorders have been evacuated, with their companions, from the Gaza Strip in the occupied Palestinian territory to Egypt and Jordan so they may continue their treatment safely. Additional children are expected to be evacuated for cancer treatment as part of this initiative.
To facilitate the move, the World Health Organization (WHO) and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital have coordinated with officials from Egypt, Israel, Jordan, the occupied Palestinian territory, and the United States of America, as well as members of the St. Jude Global Alliance, a worldwide community of institutions and foundations dedicated to helping children with cancer and other catastrophic diseases.
WHO welcomes the evacuations of children needing treatment for cancer and emphasizes that sustained, orderly, unimpeded and safe medical evacuations of critically injured and sick patients into and via Egypt through the Rafah Border Crossing are essential. In line with this, WHO and St. Jude are committed to facilitating the evacuation of more pediatric cancer patients, and their family members, as the health status of the patients and security conditions allow.
“I am relieved that children in vital need of cancer care have been able to leave the insecurity and uncertainty in Gaza and continue receiving life-saving treatment in Egypt and Jordan,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the WHO Director-General. “I also note the efforts, coordinated by St Jude and WHO, of all relevant authorities to put the health needs of these children first. This show of desperately needed humanitarian action should serve to motivate increased access to life-saving care to all people affected by this conflict, both inside Gaza where needs are greatest today, and beyond. I pray this initiative can inspire all parties to put health and peace first.”
The current conflict has obstructed exit for patients from the Gaza Strip, while severely restricting the entry of essential medical supplies, including chemotherapy. The two specialized hospitals offering care to cancer patients, including children, have been overwhelmed, undersupplied, exposed to attacks and, due to the insecurity, one has been forced to close. Cancer care services are therefore severely limited, meaning it is critically urgent to transfer patients outside Gaza for treatment.
James R. Downing, M.D., St. Jude President and CEO said: “Working together, WHO and St. Jude have built relationships with the global community of physicians treating children with cancer. These relationships made it possible to evacuate children from Ukraine early during that war. St. Jude has also supported pediatric cancer patients in the Eastern Mediterranean Region for more than two decades. As a result, St. Jude, working with WHO, is well positioned to facilitate the evacuation of pediatric cancer patients from Gaza.”
In 2022, 122 children in the Gaza Strip were diagnosed with cancer, mainly leukemia. But these children receive only a portion of their cancer care within Gaza due to lack of some cancer services, and, therefore, require referrals to hospitals in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, Egypt, Israel and Jordan for further treatment.
Both WHO and St. Jude have a longstanding history of working in the Eastern Mediterranean Region, with more than 80 institutions in all 22 countries and territories in the Region part of the St. Jude Global Alliance. Five years ago, WHO, St. Jude and other global partners launched the Global Initiative for Childhood Cancer (GICC) to improve survival rate of childhood cancer to at least 60 percent by 2030 and to reduce the suffering of all children with cancer. The GICC brings together more than 100 international stakeholders working to increase capacity to deliver quality services for children with cancer and increasing the prioritization of childhood cancer at global, regional and national levels.
Note to editors
Before the escalation, about 100 patients per day were referred for treatment outside of Gaza. About 1 in 4 were children, and 1 in 3 required cancer care.
10 November 2023: The press release has been updated to correct that only one of the two hospitals in Gaza providing specialized cancer care has closed, while the second remains partially operational.
WHO loses communication with contacts in Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza amid reports of attacks
Many of the wounded have been cared for in Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza since early October 2023. Photo from 15 October 2023. Credit: WHO
12 November 2023 — WHO has lost communication with its contacts in Al-Shifa Hospital in northern Gaza. As horrifying reports of the hospital facing repeated attacks continue to emerge, we assume our contacts joined tens of thousands of displaced people who had sought shelter on the hospital grounds and are fleeing the area. There are reports that some people who fled the hospital have been shot at, wounded and even killed.
Over the past 48 hours, Al-Shifa Hospital--which is the largest medical complex in Gaza--has been reportedly attacked multiple times, leaving several people dead and many others injured. The intensive care unit suffered damage from bombardment, while areas of the hospital where displaced people were sheltering have also been damaged. An intubated patient reportedly died when electricity was at one point cut.
The last reports said that the hospital was surrounded by tanks. Staff reported lack of clean water and risk of the last remaining critical functions, including ICUs, ventilators and incubators, soon shutting down due to lack of fuel, putting the lives of patients at immediate risk.
WHO has grave concerns for the safety of the health workers, hundreds of sick and injured patients, including babies on life support and displaced people who remain inside the hospital. The number of inpatients is reportedly almost double its capacity, even after restricting services to lifesaving emergency care.
Patients seeking health care should never be exposed to fear, and health workers who have taken an oath to treat them should never be forced to risk their own lives to provide care.
WHO calls again for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza as the only way to save lives and reduce the horrific levels of suffering. Hospitals, patients, health staff, and persons sheltering in health facilities are protected under the Geneva Conventions and International Humanitarian Law.
WHO also calls for the sustained, orderly, unimpeded and safe medical evacuations of critically injured and sick patients into Egypt through the Rafah Border Crossing.
All hostages should receive appropriate medical care and be released unconditionally.
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October 2023 emergency situation reports
Occupied Palestinian territory website