WHO Calls Israel's Military Attack On Al-Shifa Hospital In Gaza Unreceived

WHO Head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. (Wikimedia Commons/MONUSCO Photos)

JAKARTA - The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) on Wednesday said Israeli military raids on Al-Shifa Hospital in the Gaza Strip, Palestine were "completely unacceptable".

WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at a news conference in Geneva, patients and staff should be protected even though hospitals are used for military purposes.

"Hospitals are not a battlefield," he said.

"Israeli military attacks on Al Shifa Hospital in Gaza City are completely unacceptable," said Dr. Tedros.

Dr. Tedros, who earlier on Wednesday said WHO had lost contact with health workers at Al-Shifa Hospital, said the organization had no reports of a wider number of deaths and injuries in Gaza over the past three days, making it more difficult to assess the state of the health system there.

At a news conference, Tedros also reiterated calls for a ceasefire and better access to aid to Gaza, as well as the release of Israeli hostages detained there by Hamas.

Furthermore, the UN health agency also said it was "immediately exploring" the possibility of evacuating patients and medical staff from the facility.

"To ensure this can be realized, of course a safe and fuel route is needed for ambulances," said Rik Peeperkorn, a WHO representative in the Palestinian occupation area.

Peeperkorn said, based on their latest information, 34 of the 39 premature babies in the hospital were still alive, and 82 bodies had been buried in mass graves in the yard.

He continued, as many as 80 other bodies were still not buried, while hospitals did not have oxygen, electricity or water in hospitals. A total of 633 patients there, added about 500 staff and up to 4,000 people took refuge in the hospital grounds, he added.

Meanwhile, WHO's chief legal expert Steve Solomon said health facilities were always under international legal protection.

"Based on international humanitarian law, hospitals must be protected from all war measures," he explained, warning.

Israel's troops entered Gaza's largest hospital on Wednesday, part of their attack on the Palestinian enclave.

Accusing Hamas of having a command and operation headquarters in the tunnel under the hospital, Israel said its troops carried out a precise and targeted attack.