Gaza: The World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) have warned of an increasingly catastrophic health and humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip amid ongoing closure of border crossings, continued siege, and the approaching winter.
According to Palestine News and Information Agency - WAFA, WHO stated that approximately 16,500 patients in Gaza are in urgent need of medical evacuation to receive treatment outside the besieged strip. Medical supplies are ready and positioned at the border but remain blocked from entering due to the continued closure of crossings.
The agency emphasized the necessity of reopening the Rafah crossing and all other crossings without delay, highlighting that Rafah serves as the only viable route for medical evacuations and a crucial entry point for life-saving medical supplies. WHO called on the international community to ensure unrestricted aid access and to facilitate the acceptance of patients for treatment by more countries.
Meanwhile, OCHA highlighted that hundreds of thousands of displaced families in Gaza are confronting the onset of winter without adequate shelter or basic protection from cold and rain. The office reported that only a fraction of Gaza's agricultural land remains accessible and cultivable, due to extensive destruction caused by ongoing Israeli attacks, further increasing the risk of hunger.