WHO Chief Asks Israel to Ease Curbs on Gaza Medical Aid

 Palestinians evacuate Kamal Adwan hospital following an Israeli strike, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas, in Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip, May 21, 2024. (Reuters)
Palestinians evacuate Kamal Adwan hospital following an Israeli strike, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas, in Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip, May 21, 2024. (Reuters)
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WHO Chief Asks Israel to Ease Curbs on Gaza Medical Aid

 Palestinians evacuate Kamal Adwan hospital following an Israeli strike, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas, in Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip, May 21, 2024. (Reuters)
Palestinians evacuate Kamal Adwan hospital following an Israeli strike, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas, in Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip, May 21, 2024. (Reuters)

The head of the World Health Organization called on Tuesday for Israel to lift restrictions on aid into Gaza saying that the primary pipeline for emergency medical aid into the enclave from Egypt had been cut off.

"At a time when the people of Gaza are facing starvation, we urge Israel to lift the blockade and let aid through. Without more aid flowing into Gaza, we cannot sustain our lifesaving support of hospitals," WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at a press conference in Geneva.

Israel seized and closed the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt on May 7, disrupting a vital route for people and aid into and out of enclave.

Tedros said the move had impacted six hospitals and nine primary health centers and caused 70 shelters to lose their medical facilities.

"Daily consultations have fallen by close to 40% and immunization by 50%," he said. "Approximately 700 seriously ill patients who would have otherwise been evacuated for medical care elsewhere are stuck in a war zone."

Gaza's healthcare system has essentially collapsed since Israel began its military offensive there after the Oct. 7 cross-border attacks by Palestinian Hamas fighters on Israelis.

Tedros said that Gaza's Al-Awda Hospital in northern Gaza remained under siege since Sunday, with 148 hospital staff and 22 patients and the people accompanying in them trapped inside. He said that fighting near Kamal Adwan Hospital, also in northern Gaza, had jeopardized its ability to care for patients.

"These are the only two functional hospitals remaining in northern Gaza," Tedros said. "Ensuring their ability to deliver health services is imperative."



Hamas Says it Will Free 6 Living Israeli Hostages on Saturday

Families of Israelis held hostage in Gaza hold banners and photos during a protest near Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's residence in Jerusalem on September 30 (EPA)
Families of Israelis held hostage in Gaza hold banners and photos during a protest near Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's residence in Jerusalem on September 30 (EPA)
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Hamas Says it Will Free 6 Living Israeli Hostages on Saturday

Families of Israelis held hostage in Gaza hold banners and photos during a protest near Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's residence in Jerusalem on September 30 (EPA)
Families of Israelis held hostage in Gaza hold banners and photos during a protest near Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's residence in Jerusalem on September 30 (EPA)

A top Hamas leader says the group will release six living Israeli hostages on Saturday.

The six are the last living hostages set to be freed under the first phase of the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

Three hostages had been expected to be freed on Saturday, The AP reported.

The warring sides have yet to negotiate the second and more difficult phase, in which Hamas would release dozens more hostages in exchange for a lasting ceasefire and an Israeli withdrawal.

Hamas leader Khalil al-Hayya announced the decision in prerecorded remarks on Tuesday.

The releases have come in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.