Dr. Hanan Balkhy, as director of the eastern Mediterranean, said Gaza’s healthcare services had been “crushed” after two years of conflict and “on the brink of total collapse.”
“When the fighting stops, a new fight begins – to rebuild Gaza’s health care system and save a whole population from the edge of famine and despair”She told journalists at a press conference Wednesday.
Reconstruction will cost over $ 7 billion, according to WHO estimates, covering humanitarian response, early improvement and long -term reconstruction.
“Reconstruction of Gaza’s health system will not only save lives today; It will restore dignity, stability and hope for the future“Said Dr. Balkhy.
Two years after the war, the humanitarian toll remains staggering.
Dr. Balkhy said that more than half a million are “trapped under famine -like conditions”, while another million is serious food insurance. Since January, 455 people – including 151 children, have mostly under five – died of malnutrition, according to Palestinian health authorities.
A teenage boy receives treatment at a hospital in Gaza.
‘A hell -War’
The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) painted an equally gloomy picture and described Gaza as “A hell of a war that has destroyed children.“
In a statement, CEO Catherine Russell said: “In the last two years, a staggering 64,000 children have reportedly been killed or muted over the Gaza Strip, including at least 1,000 babies.”
“Famine persons persist in Gaza City and spread to the south, where children already live in serious conditions,” she added
UNICEF called for an immediate ceasefire and for Israel to ensure full protection of civilians under international law.
“Every child killed is an irreplaceable loss,“Ms. Russell said.”For the sake of all children in Gaza, this war must end now.“
Critical supplies needed now
Dr. Balkhy said who had delivered 17 million liters of fuel to keep Gaza’s hospitals and ambulances going, but “there is a need for much more.” Significant supplies – from antibiotics to wound compounds – must reach all parts of the territory “without delay”, she emphasized.
Of Gaza’s 176 primary health centers, only approx. one -third partially functional.
It has warned that the collapse of vaccination, motherhood and mental health services has worsened the risk of outbreaks. More than 1,700 health workers have been killed since October 2023.
Negotiations continue
On the political front, the top US broadcasts and other leading intermediaries from Qatar and Türkiye arrived at Egypt’s Sharm el-Sheikh Resort for a third day of indirect conversations Wednesday between Israeli and Hamas representatives.
