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With thousands of Gaza residents and hundreds of aid workers reportedly dead in Israel\u2019s conflict against Hamas, a top United Nations health official called the region a \u201cdeath zone\u201d Wednesday and reiterated his calls for an immediate cease-fire.<\/p>\n
\u201cGaza has become a death zone,\u201d World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a press briefing Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Tedros cited the more than 29,000 Gazans who are reported to have been killed so far in the months since Hamas\u2019s Oct. 7 attack on Israel. He also noted the recent attack on a Doctors Without Borders shelter in which staff were injured and family members were killed.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis figure will rise the longer the war goes on and supplies [are] interrupted,\u201d Tedros said.<\/p>\n
International aid groups operating in the region have stated that the death toll will continue to rise even after the bombings cease, as health infrastructures in Gaza have been decimated and there are widespread reports of infectious diseases, including cholera.<\/p>\n
Much of the disease spread has been attributed to the lack of available clean water.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat type of world do we live when people cannot get food and water, and when people who cannot even walk are unable to receive care?\u201d Tedros asked in the briefing.<\/p>\n
While Israeli officials have said they are working with partners to facilitate aid into Gaza, nongovernmental organizations on the ground have reported that efforts to bring in medicine and supplies have been blocked or stymied by the Israeli military.<\/p>\n
Earlier this week, the Palestinian Ministry of Health, which is based out of the West Bank, reported that the WHO had \u201csuccessfully relocated 32 critically patients from Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis to other Gaza hospitals with the support of [the Palestine Red Crescent Society] and [the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs].\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWith the intensive care units no longer working, WHO helped move patients, many of whom cannot even walk,\u201d Tedros said of the move.<\/p>\n
Khan Younis is located in the southern part of Gaza, where many residents have relocated. It is less than 10 miles from the southernmost city of Rafah, where 1.5 million Gazans are estimated to be gathered. Israeli war officials have indicated plans to invade Rafah<\/a> on Ramadan next month.<\/p>\n For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. <\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n