The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that continued delays in the delivery of essential medicines, prosthetics and other humanitarian supplies into Gaza could have “devastating consequences” for Palestinians in urgent need of medical care.
Reinhilde Van De Weerdt, the WHO representative in Palestine, urged Israeli authorities to ease restrictions on medical supplies and ensure their timely entry into the Gaza Strip.
She said approved humanitarian aid can currently enter Gaza through the Kerem Shalom crossing, while the Rafah crossing is open only for limited movement of people, including patients seeking medical treatment abroad.
Van De Weerdt said a shipment containing prosthetics and assistive devices had been rejected four times over the past six months, delaying rehabilitation for people who had lost limbs.
She also said medicines were generally being approved more easily, with nearly 87 percent of shipments approved and just over 1 percent rejected.
“Our ask is simple and has not changed: we need the unimpeded and predictable entry of humanitarian and health supplies into Gaza at scale,” she said, calling for multiple crossings to be opened so that aid does not depend on a limited number of entry points.
The WHO official also warned of growing health risks as winter approaches. Nearly two million people are in need of adequate shelter, increasing their exposure to cold, flooding and other safety risks.
She said the lack of clean water and safe shelter, combined with the presence of rats capable of transmitting infections, could increase the risk of preventable disease outbreaks. The destruction of public health laboratories has also made disease monitoring more difficult.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has separately warned of serious public health risks caused by the accumulation of solid waste in Gaza City, where sanitation services remain affected by shortages of heavy machinery, fuel, spare parts and other essential resources.
According to OCHA, Gaza’s humanitarian situation remains overwhelming nearly 12 months into a fragile ceasefire between Hamas and Israel, which has continued to be marked by Israeli air attacks and other military activity.
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