The World Health Organisation has delivered fuel and medical supplies to two hospitals in northern Gaza.
Its director general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said al Ahli Arab and al Sahaba hospitals are “functioning” but with “limited capacity”.
They “lack food, fuel, specialised staff, anaesthetic drugs, antibiotics and internal fixation devices”.
The WHO’s top official said “sustained, safe access” to health facilities is needed to deliver “urgently needed lifesaving healthcare on a regular basis”.
He is also calling for a ceasefire.
Number of Palestinians killed passes 31,000, health ministry says
The number of Palestinians killed in Israel’s military offensive since the 7 October Hamas attacks has surpassed 31,000, according to the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza.
It says the number of people killed now stands at 31,045.
A further 72,654 have been wounded.
The ministry does not differentiate between fighters and civilians in its figures.
Israel has accused the ministry of inflating its numbers, but in previous wars, its figures have held up to United Nations scrutiny, independent investigations and even Israel’s figures.
Aid ship will be one of a handful to dock in Gaza since 2006
A ship carrying aid from Cyprus to Gaza will be one of very few to dock in the Palestinian enclave since Hamas took control in 2006 and Israel imposed a sea blockade.
“There is very little precedent for this,” says a reporter in the Cypriot port city of Larnaca.
The ship is due to leave from there at about midday, and is important because others could follow.
The vessel is run by Open Arms, an independent Spanish organisation, while World Central kitchen – a US aid organisation – will be helping to deliver supplies.
A lot of funding has been provided by the UAE and the ship is sailing as part of an EU initiative.
High-tech scanning is being used to reassure the Israelis about what is being provided, and Israeli officials have been to Larnaca, Bunkall said.
A US initiative to provide aid by sea could take another 60 days to set up, he added.
It is on a larger scale, involving a floating pontoon stretching out from Gaza, enabling military ships to be brought in.
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