Latest news with #Peeperkorn
Scoop
3 days ago
- Health
- Scoop
More Gazans Killed Trying To Get Food, Healthcare Near To ‘Full Disaster'
17 June 2025 'We are walking the fine grey line between operational capacity and full disaster, every day, ' said Dr Thanos Gargavanis, WHO trauma surgeon and emergency officer, speaking from the enclave. The veteran UN medic's comments came amid new reports on Tuesday morning that more Palestinians had been killed trying to access food, this time near an aid distribution site in Khan Younis in southern Gaza. The mass casualty event left 'hundreds of casualties, completely overwhelming Nasser Medical Complex' in Khan Younis, said WHO's Representative in the occupied Palestinian territory, Dr Rik Peeperkorn. No-go zone Across Gaza today, health services are 'barely available' and difficult to access, Dr Peeperkorn said, since more than 80 per cent of Gaza's territory is under evacuation orders. ' The shrinking humanitarian space makes every health activity way more difficult than the previous day,' Dr Gargavanis added. Nasser Medical Complex is the largest referral hospital in Gaza and the only remaining main hospital in Khan Younis. It is situated within the evacuation zone announced by the Israeli military on 12 June. The nearby Al-Amal Hospital - operated by the Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) - continues to provide services to patients already there, but it is unable to admit anyone else because of ongoing military operations. 'It is what we call a completely minimal functional hospital,' Dr Peeperkorn said. Deadly impact of fuel shortages Only 17 of Gaza's 36 hospitals are currently partially functional, medical supplies are critically low and no fuel has entered the Strip for more than 100 days. The latest mass casualty event is just the latest involving Gazans trying to access aid amid ongoing severe restrictions placed on the amount of aid allowed into the Strip by Israel. On Monday, more than 200 patients arrived at the Red Cross Field Hospital in Al Mawasi - the highest number received by the facility in a single mass casualty incident. Of that number, 28 patients were reportedly declared dead, WHO's Dr Peeperkorn said. Just one day earlier, on 15 June, the same hospital received at least 170 patients, who reportedly had been trying to access a food distribution site. 'The recent food distribution initiatives by non-UN actors every time result in mass casualty incidents,' WHO's Dr Gargavanis insisted. Private aid plan fallout Since late May, the UN and humanitarian partners have been sidelined in Gaza as a new aid distribution model backed by Israel and the United States began operations under the framework of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), which uses private military contractors. The WHO trauma surgeon highlighted a 'constant correlation' between the locations of food distribution spots and the mass casualty incidents in Rafah, in Khan Younis and along the Netzarim corridor. Asked about the type of injuries sustained by those seeking aid, and who is responsible, Dr Gargavanis stressed that WHO is not a forensic agency. 'We're not in a position to clearly identify from the nature of the injury' who has caused it, he said. 'What we can say, though, is that we're talking of gunshot wound injuries, and we're talking of very few incidents of shrapnel injuries.' The UN has repeatedly warned that the new aid distribution system does not meet humanitarian principles of humanity, impartiality, independence and neutrality. The global body has also called for aid restrictions to be lifted. Dr Peeperkorn insisted that the WHO must be facilitated to move supplies into Gaza in a cost-effective manner 'via all possible routes' to prevent further shutdowns of medical services. He said that 33 WHO trucks with supplies are waiting at Al Arish in Egypt to be granted passage into the enclave, with another 15 standing by in the occupied West Bank.
Observer
4 days ago
- Health
- Observer
Gaza healthcare close to collapse as fuel runs out
GENEVA: The World Health Organization on Tuesday pleaded for fuel to be allowed into Gaza to keep its remaining hospitals running, warning the Palestinian territory's health system was at "breaking point". "For over 100 days, no fuel has entered Gaza and attempts to retrieve stocks from evacuation zones have been denied," said Rik Peeperkorn, the WHO's representative in the Palestinian territories. "Combined with critical supply shortages, this is pushing the health system closer to the brink of collapse." Peeperkorn said only 17 of Gaza's 36 hospitals were currently minimally to partially functional. They have a total of around 1,500 beds — around 45 per cent fewer than before the conflict began. He said all hospitals and primary health centres in north Gaza were currently out of service. In Rafah in southern Gaza, health services are provided through the Red Cross field hospital and two partially-functioning medical points. Speaking from Tel Aviv, he said the 17 partially functioning hospitals and seven field hospitals were barely running on a minimum amount of daily fuel and "will soon have none left". "Without fuel, all levels of care will cease, leading to more preventable deaths and suffering." Hospitals were already switching between generators and batteries to power ventilators, dialysis machines and incubators, he said, and without fuel, ambulances cannot run and supplies cannot be delivered to hospitals. Furthermore, field hospitals are entirely reliant on generators, and without electricity, the cold chain for keeping vaccines would fail. The health ministry in Gaza said on Monday that 5,194 people have been killed since Israel resumed strikes on the territory on March 18 following a truce. The overall death toll in Gaza since the war broke out on October 7, 2023 has reached 55,493 people, according to the health ministry. "People often ask when Gaza is going to be out of fuel; Gaza is already out of fuel," said WHO trauma surgeon and emergency officer Thanos Gargavanis, speaking from the Strip. "We are walking already the fine line that separates disaster from saving lives. The shrinking humanitarian space makes every health activity way more difficult than the previous day." Meanwhile, Gaza's civil defence agency said Israeli forces on Tuesday killed more than 50 aid seekers in the southern city of Khan Yunis, the latest deadly incident near an aid site in the Palestinian territory. Civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal said that at least 53 people were killed and some 200 wounded as thousands of Palestinians gathered to receive flour at a World Central Kitchen (WCK) aid centre in the morning. "Israeli drones fired at the citizens. Some minutes later, Israeli tanks fired several shells at the citizens, which led to a large number of martyrs and wounded," he said. Workers raced to restore Al Ahli Hospital in Gaza City on Tuesday, one of the last remaining functioning health facilities in Gaza's north, an area particularly hard-hit by the war. They cleared piles of rubble out of the courtyard to make space for ambulances, breaking large chunks of concrete from a collapsed storey with sledgehammers. "Every day we are being bombed from the north to the south. Al Ahli Hospital has been destroyed. Medical services are halted. As you can see, there's nothing to wrap around my hand, and there's no medication," he said, holding up his swollen hand while laying down on a makeshift bed in the hospital's backyard. "We are reactivating the emergency department as well as the physiotherapy. This is important," Alessandro Maracchi, head of the UN Development Program's Gaza's office, said. OCHA further reported that its humanitarian partners in Gaza "continue to warn of the risk of famine in Gaza, amid catastrophic levels of acute food insecurity". — AFP
Al-Ahram Weekly
4 days ago
- Health
- Al-Ahram Weekly
Gaza health care at breaking point as fuel runs out: WHO - War on Gaza
The World Health Organization on Tuesday pleaded for fuel to be allowed into Gaza to keep its remaining hospitals running, warning the Palestinian territory's health system was at "breaking point". "For over 100 days, no fuel has entered Gaza and attempts to retrieve stocks from evacuation zones have been denied," said Rik Peeperkorn, the WHO's representative in the Palestinian territories. "Combined with critical supply shortages, this is pushing the health system closer to the brink of collapse." Peeperkorn said only 17 of Gaza's 36 hospitals were currently minimally to partially functional. They have a total of around 1,500 beds, around 45 percent fewer than before the conflict began. He said all hospitals and primary health centres in north Gaza were currently out of service. In Rafah in southern Gaza, health services are provided through the Red Cross field hospital and two partially-functioning medical points. Speaking from Jerusalem, he said the 17 partially functioning hospitals and seven field hospitals were barely running on a minimum amount of daily fuel and "will soon have none left". "Without fuel, all levels of care will cease, leading to more preventable deaths and suffering." Hospitals were already switching between generators and batteries to power ventilators, dialysis machines and incubators, he said, and without fuel, ambulances cannot run and supplies cannot be delivered to hospitals. Furthermore, field hospitals are entirely reliant on generators, and without electricity, the cold chain for keeping vaccines would fail. The Palestinian health ministry said on Monday that 5,194 people have been killed since Israel resumed strikes on the territory on March 18 following a truce. The overall death toll in Gaza since the war broke out on October 7, 2023 has reached 55,493 people, most of them women and children, according to the health ministry. "People often ask when Gaza is going to be out of fuel; Gaza is already out of fuel," said WHO trauma surgeon and emergency officer Thanos Gargavanis, speaking from the Strip. "We are walking already the fine line that separates disaster from saving lives. The shrinking humanitarian space makes every health activity way more difficult than the previous day." * This story was edited by Ahram Online. Follow us on: Facebook Instagram Whatsapp Short link:
NDTV
4 days ago
- Health
- NDTV
Gaza Health Care At "Breaking Point" As Fuel Runs Out: WHO
The World Health Organization on Tuesday pleaded for fuel to be allowed into Gaza to keep its remaining hospitals running, warning the Palestinian territory's health system was at "breaking point". "For over 100 days, no fuel has entered Gaza and attempts to retrieve stocks from evacuation zones have been denied," said Rik Peeperkorn, the WHO's representative in the Palestinian territories. "Combined with critical supply shortages, this is pushing the health system closer to the brink of collapse." Peeperkorn said only 17 of Gaza's 36 hospitals were currently minimally to partially functional. They have a total of around 1,500 beds -- around 45 percent fewer than before the conflict began. He said all hospitals and primary health centres in north Gaza were currently out of service. In Rafah in southern Gaza, health services are provided through the Red Cross field hospital and two partially-functioning medical points. Speaking from Jerusalem, he said the 17 partially functioning hospitals and seven field hospitals were barely running on a minimum amount of daily fuel and "will soon have none left". "Without fuel, all levels of care will cease, leading to more preventable deaths and suffering." Hospitals were already switching between generators and batteries to power ventilators, dialysis machines and incubators, he said, and without fuel, ambulances cannot run and supplies cannot be delivered to hospitals. Furthermore, field hospitals are entirely reliant on generators, and without electricity, the cold chain for keeping vaccines would fail. The war was triggered by an unprecedented Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, which resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, according to official Israeli figures. The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said on Monday that 5,194 people have been killed since Israel resumed strikes on the territory on March 18 following a truce. The overall death toll in Gaza since the war broke out on October 7, 2023 has reached 55,493 people, according to the health ministry. "People often ask when Gaza is going to be out of fuel; Gaza is already out of fuel," said WHO trauma surgeon and emergency officer Thanos Gargavanis, speaking from the Strip. "We are walking already the fine line that separates disaster from saving lives. The shrinking humanitarian space makes every health activity way more difficult than the previous day." (Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
New Straits Times
4 days ago
- Health
- New Straits Times
No fuel, no hope: WHO warns of mass death if Gaza hospitals shut
GENEVA: The World Health Organization on Tuesday pleaded for fuel to be allowed into Gaza to keep its remaining hospitals running, warning the Palestinian territory's health system was at "breaking point." "For over 100 days, no fuel has entered Gaza and attempts to retrieve stocks from evacuation zones have been denied," said Rik Peeperkorn, the WHO's representative in the Palestinian territories. "Combined with critical supply shortages, this is pushing the health system closer to the brink of collapse." Peeperkorn said only 17 of Gaza's 36 hospitals were currently minimally to partially functional. They have a total of around 1,500 beds – around 45 per cent fewer than before the conflict began. He said all hospitals and primary health centres in north Gaza were currently out of service. In Rafah in southern Gaza, health services are provided through the Red Cross field hospital and two partially-functioning medical points. Speaking from Jerusalem, he said the 17 partially functioning hospitals and seven field hospitals were barely running on a minimum amount of daily fuel and "will soon have none left." "Without fuel, all levels of care will cease, leading to more preventable deaths and suffering." Hospitals were already switching between generators and batteries to power ventilators, dialysis machines and incubators, he said, and without fuel, ambulances cannot run and supplies cannot be delivered to hospitals. Furthermore, field hospitals are entirely reliant on generators, and without electricity, the cold chain for keeping vaccines would fail. The war was triggered by an unprecedented Hamas attack on Israel on Oct 7, 2023, which resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, according to official Israeli figures. The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said on Monday that 5,194 people have been killed since Israel resumed strikes on the territory on March 18 following a truce. The overall death toll in Gaza since the war broke out on Oct 7, 2023 has reached 55,493 people, according to the health ministry. "People often ask when Gaza is going to be out of fuel; Gaza is already out of fuel," said WHO trauma surgeon and emergency officer Thanos Gargavanis, speaking from the Strip. "We are walking already the fine line that separates disaster from saving lives. The shrinking humanitarian space makes every health activity way more difficult than the previous day."--AFP
