Geneva, Switzerland - The World Health Organization (WHO) aligns with the broader United Nations in making a fervent appeal to Israel to revoke the immediate evacuation orders affecting more than 1 million residents in the northern region of Wadi Gaza. Implementing a large-scale evacuation under the current circumstances could lead to catastrophic consequences, endangering patients, healthcare professionals, and other civilians who may either be left behind or caught in the mass movement.

With the ongoing airstrikes and restricted border access, the civilian population finds itself without a secure refuge. Nearly half of Gaza's inhabitants are children under 18 years old. The scarcity of essential resources, such as safe food, clean water, healthcare services, and adequate shelter, places both children and adults, including the elderly, at an elevated risk of contracting diseases.

The Palestinian Ministry of Health has informed WHO that it is impossible to relocate vulnerable hospital patients without jeopardizing their lives. These vulnerable patients include those with critical injuries or those dependent on life support systems. Attempting to move them during hostilities would immediately place their lives in grave danger.

In the northern Gaza region, the two Ministry of Health hospitals that are still operational have far surpassed their combined 760-bed capacity, leading to severe overcrowding. Among the numerous patients receiving care in hospitals, there are hundreds with severe injuries and over 100 in need of critical care. These patients represent the most critically ill individuals. Many thousands more, also with injuries or other healthcare needs, are unable to access any form of care.

The tight timeframe, complex transportation logistics, damaged road infrastructure, and the absence of supportive care during transit further compound the challenges of patient relocation.

Furthermore, the four Ministry of Health hospitals in southern Gaza are already operating at or beyond their capacity and are lacking the critical care resources and supplies needed to treat additional patients.

The scarcity of medical supplies is already endangering patients and hindering the work of healthcare professionals. The supplies that WHO had previously positioned in Gaza have been largely exhausted.

On October 9th, WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus met with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, who agreed to WHO's request to facilitate the delivery of health and other humanitarian supplies from WHO to Gaza through the Rafah crossing.

WHO has readied medical supplies in its logistics hub in Dubai and is prepared to transport them to Areesh, Egypt, located just 20 minutes from Rafah, as soon as landing permits are granted. These supplies would be sufficient to provide care for over 300,000 patients with various injuries and medical conditions.

WHO earnestly calls for the immediate establishment of a humanitarian corridor to ensure the secure delivery of these supplies to healthcare facilities in Gaza, including via the Rafah crossing.

WHO reiterates its plea for humanitarian access to life-saving supplies and the delivery of fuel, water, and food, as well as the protection of civilians, healthcare workers, and healthcare infrastructure under international humanitarian law. Ultimately, WHO advocates for an end to hostilities and violence.