Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus welcomed the halt in hostilities but said “the crisis is far from over and the needs are immense.”
He highlighted the toll of months of conflict: more than 170,000 people injured –including 5,000 amputees and 3,600 people with severe burns. At least 42,000 require long-term rehabilitation, and 4,000 women give birth each month “in unsafe conditions.”
“The destruction has been physical but also psychological,” he said. “An estimated one million people need access to mental health care.”
Tedros described a system on the brink of collapse. “There are no fully functioning hospitals in Gaza, and only 14 out of 36 are functioning at all,” he said, citing “critical shortages of essential medicines, equipment and health workers.”
Since the ceasefire took effect two weeks ago, WHO teams have scaled up support, sending medical supplies to hospitals, deploying emergency medical teams, and facilitating evacuations.
“Yesterday, we supported the evacuation of 41 patients and 145 companions to several countries,” Tedros said, thanking over 20 nations that have received evacuees.
