The World Health Organization (WHO) said Israeli jets carried out 41 confirmed airstrikes on health care services in the Gaza Strip since it launched a military offensive following a surprise attack by Hamas.
"Since Oct. 7, there have been 41 confirmed attacks on health care services in Gaza. A total of 11 health care workers have been killed while on active duty, and 16 have been injured. As the attacks continue, these numbers are likely to increase," WHO spokesperson Tarik Jasarevic said Tuesday, in response to a question by Anadolu Agency (AA) on the state of health care in Gaza.
Expressing concern over the situation, Jasarevic said that hospitals in the region are grappling with overwhelming numbers of patients, pushing their capacities to the limit.
He also emphasized that all health care workers in Gaza are "extraordinarily resilient" and continue to carry out their duties.
Jasarevic stressed that previously procured medicines are running out.
Furthermore, he said, Gaza is experiencing a critical shortage of fuel, which is essential for running hospitals and medical equipment.
He said that it is "practically impossible" to implement an Israeli demand to evacuate hospitals in northern Gaza.
"People on life support such as newborns in incubators, people on chemo dialysis patients on ventilators, women come with complications during pregnancy. So, all those people cannot simply be moved. So, we really call on Israel to revoke this decision," he said.
Emphasizing the inability of humanitarian aid workers and medical supplies to reach Gaza, Jasarevic said that WHO has delivered approximately 80 metric tons of surgical supplies and medicines for chronic patients near Egypt's Rafah border crossing with Gaza.
He said that the WHO, along with other humanitarian organizations within the U.N. system, brought humanitarian assistance to the crossing "in the hope that it will get to Gaza."
"At the end of everything what we need is the end to hostilities because only that will prevent further loss of life," the WHO spokesperson said.
Jasarevic said that negotiations at various levels are ongoing for the delivery of aid to Gaza.
