Dr Hanan Balkhy, WHO director for the Eastern Mediterranean, said Gaza’s health services had been “broken” after two years of conflict and “on the brink of total collapse”.
“When the fighting stops, a new struggle will begin: rebuilding Gaza’s health system and saving an entire population from starvation and despair.” she told reporters at a press conference on Wednesday.
Reconstruction will cost more than $7 billion, according to WHO estimates, covering humanitarian response, early recovery and long-term reconstruction.
“Rebuilding Gaza’s health system will not only save lives today; this will restore dignity, stability and hope for the futuresaid Dr. Balkhy.
Two years after the start of the war, the humanitarian toll remains alarming.
Dr Balkhy said more than half a million people are “trapped in famine-like conditions”, while another million suffer from severe food insecurity. Since January, 455 people – including 151 children, mostly under the age of five – have died of malnutrition, according to Palestinian health authorities.
A teenager is treated in a Gaza hospital.
“A hellish war”
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) painted a similarly bleak picture, describing Gaza as “a hellish war that devastated children.»
In a statement, Executive Director Catherine Russell said: “Over the past two years, a staggering 64,000 children are believed to have been killed or maimed in the Gaza Strip, including at least 1,000 babies.”
“Famine persists in Gaza City and is spreading to the south, where children are already living in dire conditions,” she added.
UNICEF called for an immediate ceasefire and for Israel to ensure full protection of civilians in accordance with international law.
“Every child killed is an irreplaceable loss,“, said Mrs. Russell. “For the sake of all the children of Gaza, this war must end now.»
Essential Supplies Needed Now
Dr Balkhy said WHO had provided 17 million liters of fuel to operate Gaza’s hospitals and ambulances, but “much more is needed”. Essential supplies – from antibiotics to dressings – must reach all parts of the territory “without delay”, she stressed.
Of Gaza’s 176 primary health care centers, only about a third remain partially functional.
The WHO has warned that the collapse of immunization, maternity and mental health services has increased the risk of outbreaks. More than 1,700 health workers have been killed since October 2023.
Talks continue
On the political front, senior U.S. envoys and other key proxies from Qatar and Turkey arrived in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, on Wednesday for a third day of indirect talks between Israeli and Hamas representatives.
