The United Nations has expressed grave concern over Israel’s actions in Gaza, highlighting attacks on health care and emergency services, restricted humanitarian access, and assaults on civilians that are undermining the population’s basic survival mechanisms.
On Monday, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) issued a warning following a statement by World Health Organisation (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. He reported the closure of Kamal Adwan Hospital in North Gaza after an Israeli raid and the detention of its director, Hussam Abu Safiya, on Friday.
Ghebreyesus called for Safiya’s immediate release and disclosed that critically ill patients were transferred to the barely functional Indonesian Hospital. Supplies and additional patient transfers to Al-Shifa Hospital were facilitated on Monday by WHO and its partners, he noted in a post on X.
Ghebreyesus urged Israel to ensure the health and rights of four patients detained during the transfer process, describing hospitals as “battlegrounds” and warning of the severe threat to Gaza’s health care system. He also reported damage to Al-Ahli and Al-Wafa Hospitals in Gaza City and called for an end to attacks on medical facilities and secure access to health care services.
OCHA highlighted the dire conditions in North Gaza hospitals, including a lack of water, electricity, and sanitation. While it joined WHO, the World Food Programme (WFP), the Palestine Red Crescent Society, and the UN Department for Safety in delivering essential supplies, it noted that most humanitarian missions—over 150 since October—have been blocked by Israeli authorities. Even approved missions faced significant obstacles, with only one joint team effort gaining access under difficult conditions.
The office condemned the ongoing restrictions on humanitarian aid in Gaza, reporting that over 60% of UN-coordinated movements since Friday were blocked, delayed, or interfered with. Armed looting of relief convoys in southern Gaza, affecting dozens of truckloads, has further jeopardised aid delivery, exposing drivers to severe risks.
OCHA emphasised that humanitarian workers must be granted safe and unhindered access, stressing that breaking a siege should not be necessary to assist those in critical need. The combined effects of fighting, Israeli restrictions on imports, and looting continue to paralyse relief efforts, leaving families in Gaza struggling for food, shelter, and winter necessities.
