WHO urges safe, sustained aid access as famine deepens in Gaza

ISTANBUL

The World Health Organization (WHO) on Friday renewed its call for safe and sustained access to food and medicines in the Gaza Strip, warning that famine is tightening its grip on the territory.

WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the agency had delivered vital nutritional supplies to Al Nasser Hospital, including 4,900 units of infant and high-protein formula and 2,000 feeding components.

“These supplies are vital for premature and hospitalized newborns who cannot be breastfed due to medical conditions, as well as for patients requiring specialized nutritional support,” Tedros said on US social media company X.

He stressed that humanitarian deliveries must not remain isolated interventions but form part of a broader, continuous lifeline for civilians trapped in the conflict.

“We continue to call for scaled up, sustained, and safe access of food and medicines into Gaza,” he said, warning that the health system cannot cope without regular supply channels.

The UN and aid agencies have repeatedly sounded the alarm over soaring child malnutrition and the collapse of basic health services in Gaza, where hospitals face severe shortages of medicine, food, and fuel.

“The best medicine is peace,” Tedros added.

Israel has killed more than 63,000 people in Gaza since October 2023, damaged or destroyed most buildings in the enclave, and forced multiple migrations. A global hunger monitor says parts of the enclave are now suffering from famine.