Health system in northern Gaza deliberately destroyed: WHO

• 'We've seen systematic dismantling of health system in northern Gaza,' WHO spokeswoman tells Anadolu
• It's been under siege for 80 days, and this is putting lives of 75,000 Palestinians in area at great risk,' says Margaret Harris
• Harris laments tragic reports of children dying from cold in Gaza, describing the situation as 'unbearably sad'

GENEVA

World Health Organization said that the health care system in northern Gaza has been deliberately destroyed amid intense attacks and siege.

"We've seen the systematic dismantling of the health system in northern Gaza. It's been under siege, really, for 80 days, and this is putting the lives of, we estimate, 75,000 Palestinians who remain in the area at great risk," WHO spokeswoman Margaret Harris told Anadolu.

Emphasizing the alarming conditions, she noted that the last major medical facility in northern Gaza, the Kemal Adwan Hospital, is now out of service.

She highlighted that in other parts of Gaza, people are also grappling with inadequate shelter and food, making access to medical care increasingly difficult.

Harris also reported that other hospitals in Gaza are also under attack, with two facilities in central Gaza hit recently, further exacerbating the situation.

'If bombs didn't kill them, diseases and deprivation would'

Harris lamented the tragic reports of children dying from the cold in Gaza, describing the situation as "unbearably sad."

"This is the cruelest thing you can do to parents not able to provide the most basic things for their child and to watch their little ones die," she added.

"We said a year ago; we predicted that because people were forced out of their homes and not provided with adequate shelter and adequate services," she further added.

"If the bombs didn't kill them, the diseases and the deprivation would...I couldn't believe that this would actually come to pass," she stressed.

Harris also confirmed that the Kemal Adwan Hospital is now empty, with critically ill patients transferred to the Indonesian Hospital, which is itself struggling due to a lack of essential equipment and supplies.

On the detention of Kemal Adwan Hospital Director Husam Abu Safiyeh by Israeli authorities, Harris said they had no information on his status.

"The reality is there is no real health care available for people in the northern Gaza right now," she concluded.

Israel has killed more than 45,500 people in Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023 and reduced the enclave to rubble.

In November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.