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Recently returned from a visit to the devastated enclave, Dr. Renee Van de Weerdt, the World Health Organization (WHO)\u2019s representative in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, told reporters in Geneva, \u201cNothing prepares you for Gaza<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI thought going in the second time would make things easier. But it just doesn’t,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Dr. Van de Weerdt underscored that since the October 2025 ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, at least 880 people have been killed in the Strip and more than 2,600 injured<\/strong>.<\/p>\n \u201cThere is perhaps less fire, but the violence continues,\u201d she said. \u201cWe hear bombs nearby. There is gunfire every day<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n The WHO representative painted a dark picture of the health situation in the enclave, noting that some 22 attacks on health have been reported in Gaza this year and that barely half of the hospitals are \u201cpartially functional\u201d, while not a single hospital can be considered fully operational.<\/p>\n \u201cOne of the key reasons these facilities are not functioning is because they are struggling with critical shortages of medical supplies,\u201d she explained.\u00a0<\/p>\n Vital supplies and equipment are blocked on the other side of the Strip\u2019s borders, Dr. Van de Weerdt said, with devastating effects for the health of the population.<\/p>\n \u201cIn Jordan, there is a prefabricated hospital waiting for months to enter Gaza,\u201d she said. \u201cLaboratory equipment, reagents, oxygen concentrators, orthopedic items, not luxury items. These are essential items\u2026needed to make health facilities and the health system work.\u201d<\/p>\n Without laboratory equipment and reagents, \u201cwe cannot diagnose diseases and detect potential disease outbreaks,\u201d the WHO representative insisted.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe’re talking about hantavirus, we’re talking about Ebola virus. This is not luxury. This is equipment that we need to save lives, to detect diseases, to alert the world about potential outbreaks and make sure that people don’t die<\/strong>.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cYou can only imagine with the horrific living conditions, overcrowding, rodents, lack of water and sanitation, that this is urgently, urgently needed,\u201d she stressed.<\/p>\n Dr. Van de Weerdt explained that some items are banned under Israeli regulations as \u201cdual use\u201d items<\/strong>, which are considered to have potential military uses. She pushed back on applying the qualification to internationally recognised lists of essential medicines.<\/p>\n Prosthetic limbs, for instance, are considered dual-use<\/strong>. Some 5,000 amputees in Gaza are waiting not only for prosthetics but also for corrective surgery to make sure that that limb can be fitted appropriately.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThat surgery for the moment can’t take place in Gaza,\u201d she said. \u201cSo, these unfortunate people need to be on a waiting list to leave<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n WHO has supported the health authorities on organizing medical evacuations for thousands of patients to more than 30 countries.\u00a0<\/p>\n Since its February reopening the Rafah crossing has been a key gateway through which patients can leave the Strip to Egypt, Dr. Van de Weerdt said, while from the Kerem Shalom crossing, which can be used up to once a week, patients can go \u201cthrough a very long and complicated pathway to Jordan.\u201d<\/p>\n The WHO representative said there are extreme difficulties associated with medical evacuations for patients and their families.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cOften only one or two family members can leave and conditions for return are not always there<\/strong>,\u201d she said. \u201cWe keep advocating for medical evacuations for very specialised cases. But we also want to make sure that an increasing number of the thousands and thousands of people that need specialized care in Gaza today\u2026 can be treated in Gaza.\u201d<\/p>\n A key provider of health services in Gaza is the UN agency for Palestine refugees, UNRWA, although Israeli parliamentary bans on its activity have largely complicated its operations.<\/p>\n \u00a0UNRWA\u2019s Director of Health Dr Akihiro Seita told reporters in Geneva that last year, the agency provided 4.5 million medical consultations in the enclave, or some 40 per cent of the total volume of medical consultations.<\/p>\nHalf of hospitals \u2018partially functional\u2019<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Blind to outbreaks<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Prosthetic limbs considered suspect<\/strong><\/h2>\n
UNRWA irreplacable<\/h2>\n