The World Health Organization (WHO) issued a stern warning on Saturday, stating that compelling the evacuation of thousands of patients to already overwhelmed hospitals in southern Gaza could be “equivalent to a death sentence.”
Israel has cautioned Palestinians to evacuate northern Gaza ahead of an anticipated ground offensive against Hamas, a week after the bloody attack by the Palestinian Islamist group.
“The WHO strongly condemns Israel’s repeated orders to evacuate 22 hospitals catering to over 2,000 patients in northern Gaza,” said the UN health agency in a statement. “The forced evacuation of patients and healthcare workers will further worsen the current humanitarian and public health catastrophe,” it added.
Transferring 2,000 patients to southern Gaza, “where healthcare facilities are already operating at full capacity and are unable to absorb a drastic increase in the number of patients, could amount to a death sentence,” warned the WHO.
According to the organization, the lives of many critically ill patients “hang in the balance,” referring to individuals in intensive care, those dependent on life support, newborns in incubators, patients undergoing hemodialysis, and women with pregnancy complications.
The WHO highlighted that healthcare workers in northern Gaza now face the “heart-wrenching dilemma” of abandoning critically ill patients or risking their lives by moving them.
Israel launched new airstrikes on northern Gaza on Saturday before an expected ground offensive against Hamas commanders. The week-long Israeli attacks were triggered by the incursion on October 7 by Islamist fighters who crossed the heavily fortified border, killing, shooting, stabbing, and burning more than 1,300 people.
In Gaza, according to health authorities, over 2,200 people have died. Similar to the Israeli side, the majority were civilians. The situation remains dire, emphasizing the urgent need for a peaceful resolution and humanitarian aid to alleviate the suffering of the people caught in this devastating conflict.