Dec. 12 (UPI) — Israeli forces stormed one of north Gaza’s last functional healthcare facilities Tuesday, as international organizations warned that disease is spreading among millions of displaced people in Gaza.
The World Health Organization says that infectious diseases are spreading throughout Gaza, as Palestinians struggle to find food and water. According to the U.N. Relief and Works Agency, the body charged with Palestinian refugees, 1.9 million Palestinians have been displaced since Oct. 7.
The WHO has reported 369,000 cases of infectious diseases, according to the New York Times.
A spokesperson for the health organization said that staff are being “forcibly evacuated” from Kamal Adwan hospital, as the local Health Ministry says the Israeli military has stormed the healthcare facility.
The Israeli military had been laying siege to Kamal Adwan hospital for several days. The U.N. says that the hospital has been hit and that Palestinian Red Crescent Workers were detained and held at gunpoint.
In a press release Tuesday, the U.N. Office of the Coordination for Humanitarian Affairs said that on Monday “the maternity department at Kamal Adwan hospital in Beit Lahiya, north of Gaza, was hit. As a result, two mothers were reportedly killed, and several people were injured.”
According to the U.N. office, 3,000 internally displaced people “remain trapped in the facility and are awaiting evacuation with extreme shortages of water, food and power reported.”
The organization painted a bleak picture of the situation on the ground.
“Large crowds wait for hours around aid distribution centers, in desperate need of food, water, shelter, health, and protection. In the absence of an adequate number of latrines, open air defecation is widespread, increasing concerns of the spread of disease, particularly during rains and flooding,” the OCHA said.
WHO Director-General Tedros Ghebreyesus expressed concern about the situation at Kamal Adwan.
“I’m extremely worried about reports of a raid at Kamal Adwan Hospital in Gaza after several days of siege, Ghebreyesus wrote on X Tuesday. “According to the Ministry of Health, there are 65 patients including several needing intensive care, and 45 medical staff in the hospital.”
Ghebreyesus said that hospital is suffering from “acute shortages of fuel, water, food and medical supplies even before the siege.”
Gaza’s Ministry of Health reports that fatality figures have surpassed 18,000 and that Israeli forces have detained the director of Kamal Adwan hospital.
