75% of UN missions prevented from entering Gaza

Seventy-five per cent of United Nations missions have been denied entry into the Gaza Strip due to the ongoing blockade and Israeli attacks, according to Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the World Health Organisation (WHO).

During a weekly press briefing held yesterday, Ghebreyesus highlighted the full blockade imposed by Israel on Gaza since 2 March, which has halted the entry of all food and medical supplies.

He stated that “in the past week, 75 per cent of UN missions within Gaza have been denied or impeded.”

This blockade is leaving families hungry, malnourished, without clean water, shelter, and adequate health care, and increasing the risk of disease and death,” Ghebreyesus described.

The WHO chief stressed that Israeli attacks on the health system in Gaza remain ongoing. He noted that over 400 humanitarian workers have been killed since October 2023.

“On the 23rd of March, the Israeli army attacked a medical and emergency convoy, killing 15 health and humanitarian workers,” he added.

Despite the security risks, growing restrictions, and dwindling supplies, the WHO continues to operate inside Gaza, Ghebreyesus confirmed.

He concluded by calling for “urgent lifting of the aid blockade, the protection of health care, unimpeded humanitarian access across Gaza, the immediate resumption of daily medical evacuations, the release of hostages still detained in Gaza, and – above all – a ceasefire.”

READ: Israeli court rejects appeal to restore electricity in Gaza