WHO stated on 25 October that they had no contact with any of the staff of Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza after the Israeli artillery and gunfire attack on the hospital in the morning when a few staff were injured there. The hospital had hundreds of people to hide behind those services. So Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus went straight to the media in X and was very worried.

Reports say the hospital in Beit Lahia has been hit very severely and, mainly targeting life-saving health infrastructure. Local health structures say some health staff were slightly injured near the shelling and attack area; the central oxygen station was bombed and is no longer functioning. Soldiers entered the hospital and were destroying equipment in the emergency unit.

WHO teams and other agencies managed to access the facility last night, although it was after the latest attack on Kamal Adwan Hospital. According to the agency, due to the intensity of the battle in the area, they evacuated 23 patients and 26 staff to al-Shifa Hospital. Tedros said all supplies are available: 180 units of blood, trauma kits and surgical stock to treat more than 5,000 patients. Kamal Adwan Hospital is treating 200 patients and many more who are hiding.

The WHO head once again called for all fighting to stop immediately; he emphasised the protection of health facilities, patients and humanitarian personnel. It’s now almost impossible to access hospitals in Gaza, according to Tedros, putting staff in unnecessary danger. “Everyone in Gaza needs peace,” he said.

A wave of violence in Gaza started after an attack by Hamas in October last year. Since the past year, Israel has intensified its attacks on the territory. Recently, the UN Security Council passed a resolution calling for a ceasefire, yet violence persisted. Local health officials have recorded over 42,800 casualties, women and children, and more than 100,500 injured.

This has pushed the whole population of Gaza to shortages of food and medication, no clean water and is still under siege.

At the same time, today, the humanitarian situation is dramatically deteriorating because the International Court of Justice initiated proceedings against Israel for genocide.