World Health Organization's Readiness to Assist Gaza: Full Access is Essential

The World Health Organization announced on Sunday that it is ready to send humanitarian aid to Gaza during the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, but it requires "organized access" throughout the region to do so. According to Agence France-Presse, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus welcomed the ceasefire and wrote on social media that this agreement "gives great hope to millions of people whose lives have been devastated by this conflict." A large part of Gaza's health infrastructure has been destroyed during over a year of war between the Israeli army and Hamas, the Palestinian armed group supported by the Iranian government. The ceasefire between the two sides came into effect on Sunday. Prior to the ceasefire, Israel had complete control over the amount and type of humanitarian aid sent to Gaza. The Geneva-based World Health Organization warned that "the health challenges ahead are very extensive," estimating the cost of rebuilding Gaza's damaged health system in the coming years to be "billions of dollars." Last week, the organization had estimated this figure to be over $10 billion. According to this UN-affiliated agency, "only half of the 36 hospitals in the Gaza Strip are partially operational, almost all hospitals have been damaged or partially destroyed, and only 38% of primary health centers are active." The World Health Organization, citing data provided by the Gaza-based Ministry of Health, which the UN considers reliable, reported that the number of casualties from the war in Gaza exceeds 44,600 killed and over 110,000 injured. Israel claims that many of the dead are Hamas members. According to the World Health Organization's estimates, about a quarter of the injured have "injuries that will permanently change their lives and require lifelong rehabilitation." Additionally, about 12,000 people need to be transferred outside Gaza for urgent treatment. The organization also expressed concern about the "collapse of public order exacerbated by the activities of armed groups" and their interference in the process of sending humanitarian aid to Gaza.