In a social media post, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that only 10 out of 36 hospitals are now partially functioning in the enclave.
Al-Amal hospital in the southern city of Khan Younis closed on Tuesday, Tedros noted, after media reports indicated that Israeli troops forced medical teams and patients to evacuate.
The development came as the UN aid coordination office OCHA underscored that obstacles continue to prevent the flow of humanitarian supplies throughout Gaza – and as the UN’s top rights official said it was “plausible” that Israel is using starvation as a weapon of war in the enclave.
‘Brutal obstacle course’
In a tweet, OCHA described the delivery of essential aid as tantamount to a “brutal obstacle course”, calling on Israel to end restrictions.
Some 1.1 million people in Gaza face “an extreme level of food insecurity” and there is no alternative to the large-scale transportation of aid by land, especially for those facing the prospect of widespread famine in the north.
The UN relief agency for Palestinians (UNRWA) tweeted that the “clock is ticking fast towards famine in Gaza” and that, although the agency is the backbone of the humanitarian operation, its food convoys “are prevented from reaching the north, where famine is imminent.”
Jonathan Fowler, Senior Communications Officer for UNRWA, described the north as the epicentre: “we simply need to have access to get food supplies in.”
Civilian death toll rises in South Lebanon
Airstrikes by Israel and rocket barrages by Hezbollah militants along the border region with southern Lebanon on Wednesday, linked to the war in Gaza, led to the deadliest day in months of escalating tensions along the frontier.
In a statement released on Thursday, UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Lebanon, Imran Riza, said that “the tragic events of the past 36 hours have resulted in a significant loss of life and injuries” in the southern region.
