Reports of violent bombardment in Gaza ‘petrifying’: WHO chief

ISTANBUL

The situation of the health sector in Gaza is “unimaginable,” the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) warned on Sunday.

“The reports of ongoing hostilities and heavy bombardment in Gaza are petrifying,” Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus wrote on X.

“Yesterday (Saturday) our team visited Nassar Medical Hospital in the south. It was packed with 1,000 patients — 3 times over its capacity,” Tedros said, adding that “countless people were seeking shelter, filling every corner of the facility.”

The WHO chief stated that “patients were receiving care on the floor, screaming in pain.”

He stressed that “these conditions are beyond inadequate - unimaginable for the provision of health care.”

“I cannot find words strong enough to express our concern over what we’re witnessing,” Tedros added.

He reiterated his call for a “ceasefire now.”

The Israeli army resumed bombing the Gaza Strip early Friday after declaring an end to a week-long humanitarian pause with the Palestinian resistance group, Hamas.

More than 15,200 Palestinians, mostly children and women, have been killed in Israeli attacks since Oct. 7 following a cross-border attack by Hamas.

The official Israeli death toll stands at 1,200.

*Writing by Ikram Kouachi