Hospital emergency departments in Gaza look like battlefields, says WHO RD

The World Health Organization's (WHO) Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean, Ahmed Al Mandhari, said, "As the bombardments continue, our team in Gaza says that hospital emergency departments look like battlefields, packed with people suffering from war wounds, including children with severe burns and the floors covered in blood." "Many people are dying of their injuries before they are even able to find a hospital that has the capacity or resources to save them," Al Mandhari said in his intervention for the special session on the health conditions in the occupied Palestinian territory, including east Jerusalem, on Sunday. "Cases of infectious diseases are rapidly spreading, and people are on the brink of starvation, with reports of some households going for up to 24 hours without food or water," Al Mandhari added. He went on to say, "Beyond the urgent need to end this horrific suffering, our region may not be able to withstand further threats to its health security. Countries affected by the spi llover of hostilities, including Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, and Yemen, are already struggling to keep their health systems afloat and suffer from poor infrastructure and limited health resources. They cannot afford to be further challenged." "We are concerned about escalating hostilities in the West Bank, as well as in southern Lebanon near the border with Israel, which are leading to even more loss of life, injury, displacement, and damages to health infrastructure," he explained. He noted that the current catastrophic situation - if not immediately halted - has the potential to further destabilize public health and place countless more lives at risk. "Only an immediate ceasefire can ultimately stop the suffering and prevent the health security of the entire Region from further spiraling downward," Al Mandhari concluded. Source: Jordan News Agency