WHO wants humanitarian corridor to evacuate wounded from Gaza
Print Edition
THE World Health Organization yesterday called for a humanitarian corridor to be set up in Gaza to allow aid workers to evacuate the wounded and bring in life-saving medicines.
Even during wartime, belligerents are obligated under international humanitarian law to ensure that people are able to reach medical care in safety, the WHO and Red Cross said yesterday.
Yet some sick and injured in Gaza are dying because of a lack of access to ambulances or health facilities, or the inability to leave the enclave for specialized treatment, the agencies said.
As casualties mount daily, WHO officials have discussed the humanitarian corridor proposal with both Israeli and Egyptian officials, but there has been no response yet, WHO spokesman Paul Garwood said.
“It’s needed as an urgency,” Garwood told a news briefing.
The death toll in Gaza soared to over 800 yesterday. At least 4,500 people have been injured, the WHO said.
In a statement, the UN health agency said that it was difficult for the sick and wounded in Gaza to get access to health care and that some needed to leave the coastal strip for treatment.
The humanitarian corridor should protect their safe passage, the WHO said, and the transport of essential aid should be facilitated at crossing points between the Gaza Strip and Israel and neighboring countries.
Four hospitals have been damaged since July 8 when Israel launched air strikes on Gaza, many ambulances have come under fire, and medical supplies are running low, the WHO said.
Al-Aqsa hospital, the main 100-bed hospital for central Gaza, came under direct fire on Monday, killing four people and causing severe damage to the surgical ward, intensive care unit and to life-saving material, the WHO said.
A shipment of WHO medical supplies, enough to treat some 400-500 people, was expected to arrive from Amman, Garwood said, noting that nearly 600 people were injured on Thursday alone.
“People are dying at an alarming rate, being injured at a very alarming rate,” Jens Laerke of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs told reporters.
“We are calling for these localized cease-fires whereby the wounded can be evacuated and we can access people with both health care and other kinds of relief,” he said.
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