Gaza has become Death Zone, says WHO chief

Amman: An "inhumane" health and humanitarian situation now prevails across Gaza, with conditions continuing to deteriorate, the head of the UN World Health Organization warned on Wednesday. "Gaza has become a death zone," Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General, told correspondents at a press briefing in Geneva. "Much of the territory has been destroyed. More than 29,000 people are dead; many more are missing or presumed dead; and many, many more are injured," he added. Across the war-ravaged Gaza Strip, severe malnutrition has shot up dramatically since the start of the war, from under one percent of the population to over 15 percent in some areas. "This figure will rise the longer the war goes on and supplies are interrupted," Tedros said, expressing deep concern that agencies such as the World Food Programme (WFP) are unable to access the north. WHO Chief Tedros reiterated the grave risks for humanitarians and the need to ensure they are protected. "What type of world do we live in when peop le cannot get food and water and when people who cannot even walk are unable to receive care?" he lamented. "What type of world do we live in when health workers are at risk of being bombed as they carry out their lifesaving work and hospitals must close because there is no more power or medicine to help save patients?" Source: Jordan News Agency