WHO EMRO | WHO Regional Director’s statement for the Executive Board 156: Health conditions in the occupied Palestinian territory, including east Jerusalem | News

February 2025

Esteemed Chair, Your Excellencies, Director-General,

The suffering in the Gaza Strip is beyond comprehension.

Tens of thousands of people have died, and around 30 000 have life-changing injuries.

The health system is ruined.

Malnutrition is rising. The risk of famine persists.

Families are returning to devastated neighbourhoods.

Almost no health facilities remain intact.

Our only comfort lies in the courage, dedication and resilience of the people and health workers.

Despite unimaginable challenges, health workers are maintaining health services with minimal resources.

They continue to serve even after enduring personal losses and while living with the trauma of the horrors they have seen.

Excellencies,

We are doing all we can to alleviate the suffering.

During this ceasefire, our top priority is to restore essential health services and get health facilities operational.

We continue to deliver medical supplies, fuel hospitals, respond to outbreaks and evacuate patients – all while navigating severe access constraints.

Supporting mental health is at the heart of our response.

We are ready to scale up our response.

But we urgently need systematic and sustained access to the population across Gaza, and we need an end to restrictions on the entry of essential supplies.

Equally critical is protecting civilians and health-care workers, expediting the evacuation of patients in urgent need of specialized care, and strengthening the referral system to East Jerusalem and the West Bank.

We also need massively increased funding both to meet immediate health needs and to begin restoring the health system.

In closing, I call to all parties to honour their commitments. Implement the ceasefire agreement in full and work towards a political solution to this protracted crisis.

Such a solution is essential for lasting peace and the dignity of those who have suffered for far too long.

Thank you.