The World Health Organization says some doctors in Gaza, Palestine have been performing operations, including amputations, without anesthesia.
Following the brutal attack by Hamas militants on Israel on October 7, 2023, that killed 1400 people, Israel has launched a massive attack on Gaza with at least 10,000 people now reportedly dead.
Israel’s military operation, has also resulted in the blockade of Water, food, fuel and vital medicines into the tiny enclave.
“Nothing justifies the horror being endured by civilians in Gaza,” WHO spokesperson Christian Lindmeier said Tuesday during a press briefing in Geneva, stressing their “desperate need for water, fuel, food and safe access to health care to survive.”
Lindmeier reiterated the United Nations’ calls for “unhindered, safe and secure access” for some 500 trucks of aid a day — not only across the border but also “all the way through to the patients in the hospitals,” where surgeries including amputations were being performed without anesthesia.
The level of death and suffering is “hard to fathom,” he added.
Lindmeier also said that at least 16 health care workers have been killed while on duty, stressing that any attacks on health care are forbidden by international humanitarian law.
Doctors Without Borders, also known as Médecins Sans Frontières, said Tuesday that one of its colleagues and several of his family members were killed in a blast at the Al Shati refugee camp.
Mohammed Al Ahel, an MSF laboratory technician and several members of his family died in the blast Monday, the organization said.
MSF said in a statement that it is “gravely concerned for all of our colleagues in Gaza, many of whom are still working in hospitals across the Strip providing lifesaving care.”
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) also said Tuesday that its humanitarian convoy came under fire when it was delivering essential medical supplies to health facilities in Gaza City.
According to ICRC, two trucks were damaged in the attack, and a driver sustained minor injuries.
“These are not the conditions under which humanitarian personnel can work,” William Schomburg, the head of the ICRC delegation in Gaza, said in a statement.
“We are here to bring urgent assistance to civilians in need. Ensuring that vital aid can reach medical facilities is a legal obligation under international humanitarian law.”
