WHO Urges IDF to Revoke Order to Empty Medical Warehouse in South Gaza, Israel Denies Ordering Evacuation

WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. (Wikimedia Commons/MONUSCO)

JAKARTA - The World Health Organization (WHO) and Israel exchanged statements regarding the emptying of the UN agency's medical supplies warehouse in the southern Gaza area.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus urged Israel to lift the evacuation order for the agency's medical supplies warehouse in southern Gaza,

Israel is known to have decided to start ground operations in southern Gaza, as the war with Hamas resumes, after the end of the ceasefire last week, while operations in the north continue.

"Today, WHO received notification from the Israel Defense Forces that we must move our supplies from our medical warehouse in southern Gaza within 24 hours, because ground operations will make them unusable," wrote Tedros on social media X, as reported by Anadolu.

"We call on Israel to revoke the order and take all possible measures to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure, including hospitals and humanitarian facilities," he continued.

In response, Israel denied that it had asked the UN health agency WHO to vacate aid warehouses in southern Gaza, before they started ground operations in the area, quoted from The Times of Israel.

"In fact, we are not asking you to evacuate the warehouse and we have also explained that (and in writing) to the relevant UN representatives," said the Ministry of Defense agency responsible for Palestinian civil affairs (COGAT) on social media X.

The truth is that we didn't ask you to evacuate the warehouses and we also made it clear (and in writing) to the relevant #UN representatives.

From a #UN official we would expect, at least, to be more accurate. https://t.co/ZrXQ6ecqcd

— COGAT (@cogatonline) December 4, 2023