Gaza – Access to life-saving medicines is obstructed while killing and disease outbreaks continue

Speaking to reporters in Geneva today, Friday, the organization’s representative in the occupied Palestinian territory, Dr. Rene van de Weerdt, said that she had recently returned from her second visit to the devastated Strip, and despite having thirty years of experience in dealing with emergency situations, she confirmed “Nothing can prepare you [لما ستراه] In Gaza.”

added: “I thought going there a second time would make things easier, but it wasn’t at all.”

Dr. Van de Weerdt confirmed that since the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas took effect in October 2025, at least 880 people have been killed in the Strip, and more than 2,600 others have been injured.

She said: “The intensity of the shooting may have decreased, but the violence still continues. We hear the sound of bombs nearby, and the sound of gunfire is heard on a daily basis.”

The health sector is devastated

The representative of the World Health Organization painted a bleak picture of the health situation in the Strip, noting that about 22 attacks were reported targeting the health sector in Gaza this year, and that half of the hospitals are barely functioning. “partially”, While there is not a single hospital that can be considered it “Fully functional.”

She explained that one of the main reasons for “These facilities have stopped operating because they are suffering from a severe and critical shortage of medical supplies.”

Dr. van de Weerdt said vital supplies and equipment remain stuck outside the Strip, with devastating effects on the health of the population. For example, she confirmed that there is a pre-equipped hospital in Jordan that has been “waiting for months to be allowed into Gaza.”

added: “These are laboratory equipment, medical reagents, oxygen concentrators, and orthopedic supplies, not luxury goods. They are essential and indispensable items to ensure the continued functioning of health facilities and the health system as a whole.”

The representative of the World Health Organization stressed that in the absence of laboratory equipment and medical reagents, “we cannot diagnose diseases or monitor any possible outbreak of epidemics.”

She said: “Today we are talking about the Hanta virus and the Ebola virus. These are not luxury items, but rather equipment we need to save lives, to detect diseases, to alert the world about potential outbreaks, and to ensure that people do not die. With appalling living conditions, overcrowding, rodent infestations, and lack of water and sanitation, the [هذه المعدات] “It is a very urgent need.”

“dual use”

Dr. van de Weerdt objected to the classification of essential medicines on internationally recognized lists by Israel as “dual-use” regulations, which are substances that are considered to have potential military uses.

Artificial limbs, for example, are placed on the list of “dual-use” items. About 5,000 people who have undergone amputations in Gaza are waiting not only to receive artificial limbs, but also to undergo corrective surgery to ensure that the artificial limb can be fitted properly.

She said: “At the moment, these surgeries cannot be performed inside Gaza. Therefore, these unfortunate people are forced to join waiting lists in order to leave.”

The World Health Organization has provided support to health authorities in organizing medical evacuations for thousands of patients to more than 30 countries.

Dr. Van de Weerdt said that the Rafah crossing has been a main gateway through which patients can leave the Strip towards Egypt since it was reopened in February, while the Kerem Shalom crossing – which is only allowed to be used once a week maximum – allows patients to cross. “Through a very long and complicated path to reach Jordan.”

The representative of the World Health Organization stressed the extreme difficulties surrounding medical evacuations of patients and their families.

She said: “Often, only one or two family members are allowed to leave, and the conditions for return are not always available. We continue to advocate for the organization of medical evacuations for cases that require highly specialized care. But we also seek to ensure that an increasing number of thousands and thousands of people who today require specialized care can receive treatment in Gaza.”

The role of UNRWA despite the restrictions

Despite the Israeli restrictions imposed on its activities, which have complicated its operations, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) remainsUNRWA) A major actor in providing health services inside Gaza.

In his statements to reporters in Geneva, Dr. Akihiro Seita, Director of the Agency’s Health Department, said that during the past year, UNRWA provided 4.5 million medical consultations, which represents about 40 percent of the total volume of medical consultations in Gaza, as its efforts focused in particular on supporting pregnant women, children suffering from malnutrition, and vaccination campaigns, in “A tremendous contribution to achieving stability in the region.”

Dr. van de Weerdt confirmed that “No party can replace the role played by UNRWA.”

Dr. Sita expressed his regret that the agency has become unable to bring medicines into the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, and that earlier this year it lost two of its health centers in East Jerusalem, which used to serve 11,000 patients annually. “Because of the draft laws passed by the Knesset against UNRWA.”

He said that the agency lost 391 of its employees who were killed during the war in Gaza, while thousands of them continue to provide assistance to the desperate residents of the Strip, despite the horrific conditions they face on the ground.

And he said: “Many of our employees are still living in tents. I will never forget what one employee told me: I feel like I have become an orphan in this world. No one is taking care of us, they have forgotten us.”