WHO calls for allowing the entry of infected people from Gaza into Egypt

Baghdad-INA

The World Health Organization called on Friday to allow patients and injured people from Gaza to enter Egypt on a regular basis to receive treatment, in order to reduce pressure on the Strip’s hospitals.

The organization said: "A system must be established to remove priority cases from the besieged Palestinian Strip.".
25 out of 36 hospitals in the Gaza Strip are out of service, while the rest of the hospitals struggle to provide what health services they can.
“This is not enough to support the endless needs that have arisen due to the hostilities,” emphasized WHO Representative in the Palestinian Territories Richard Peppercorn.

During a press conference, Peppercorn called for daily, sustainable, unhindered and safe medical evacuations of the sick and seriously injured to neighboring Egypt.

Pepperkorn spoke from Jerusalem via video communication technology, stressing that between 50 and 60 patients must be transferred on a daily basis to Egypt, where they will receive appropriate treatment and care, stressing that they “deserve it.”
He continued, "We are very concerned about the safety of patients and health workers, not only in Al-Shifa Hospital but in other hospitals as well.". He stated, "Health facilities, health workers, ambulances and patients must be protected.".

According to Peppercorn, before the outbreak of the war, there were about 3,500 beds in the Gaza Strip’s hospitals, and now there are approximately 1,400 beds, and the needs are currently estimated at “about 5,000 beds.”.

According to the UN official, the organization’s communication with its employees on the ground in Gaza has become “extremely difficult.” Due to a communications outage in the sector.

Peppercorn also expressed deep concern about the spread of infectious diseases in the Palestinian sector, including acute respiratory infections, chicken pox, skin rashes, and hepatitis A.

The conference came as the Israeli army searched, on Thursday, the Al-Shifa Hospital complex in the Gaza Strip, which consists of several buildings, “in a precise operation,” and Hamas said that the army “destroyed” sections of the medical facility.