In a Security Council meeting on Friday, Dr. Rik Peeperkorn, World Health Organization (WHO) representative for the West Bank and Gaza, painted a grim picture of the situation, emphasising that over 25 per cent of the 105,000 injured civilians now face life-changing injuries.
“At the current rate, it would take five to 10 years to evacuate all these critically ill patients,” Dr. Peeperkorn warned, noting that over 12,000 people remain on waiting lists for urgent treatment abroad.
Only 16 of the region’s 36 hospitals remain partially operational, their collective capacity merely above 1,800 beds - entirely insufficient for the overwhelming medical needs.
“The health sector is being systematically dismantled,” Dr. Peeperkorn noted, citing shortages of medical supplies, equipment, and personnel.
Kamal Adwan Hospital, North Gaza's main healthcare facility, is among the latest casualties.
A December raid left the hospital severely damaged, forcing critical patients to be transferred to the Indonesian Hospital - another non-functional facility lacking essential supplies.
Meanwhile, Al-Awda Hospital, the last operational hospital in North Gaza, struggles to provide basic care amidst depleting resources, ongoing hostilities, and a precarious lack of access to vital medicines.
