Repeated delays in bringing life-saving medicines, prosthetics and other supplies from Israel into Gaza risk having “devastating consequences” for Palestinians who urgently need them, the World Health Organization (WHO) has said.

Approved aid can enter Gaza only through Kerem Shalom, at the southern tip of the territory, while Rafah, also in the south, is open only for limited movement of people, including patients needing medical treatment abroad, the WHO said on Friday.

“A truck full of non-priority supplies or the right supplies arriving too late, doesn’t save lives. That’s the question that actually matters,” Reinhilde Van De Weerdt, the WHO’s representative in Palestine, said.

Van De Weerdt called on Israeli authorities to “release the pressure on medical supplies”, saying essential medicines “should not be considered as dual use, as they are globally accepted standards on medical items anybody needs anywhere to run a hospital or a clinic”.

She added that one shipment of prosthetics and assistive devices had been rejected four times over the past six months.