The Gaza hospital system “will not survive” much longer, the World Health Organisation has warned.
The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) will today vote on a resolution calling for an urgent ceasefire in the war-torn region.
The vote was due to take place yesterday; however, it was postponed as diplomats work to address US objections to the wording of the resolution.
The US has said it cannot support calls for a ‘cessation of hostilities’ but would consider backing calls for a ‘suspension of hostilities’.
On Newstalk Breakfast this morning, the Executive Director of the World Health Organisation’s Health Emergencies Programme Dr Mike Ryan said just seven of the 36 hospitals that were in Gaza before the war are still operating.
He said those that are still there are lacking basic facilities.
“The hospital system has effectively collapsed,” he said.
“Of those operational, they are really just partially functioning.
“We are supplementing emergency medical teams in field hospitals but it is impossible to sustain the medical needs in Gaza with the current level of security and violence.”
Targeting hospitals
Dr Ryan said he is unsure whether the IDF is deliberately targeting hospitals.
“Gaza is very tightly populated,” he said.
“You’ve got 2.3 million people packed into a tiny space with houses, infrastructure, hospitals, schools, shelter, all very close together.
“But when you see that much of the health and hospitals be so badly damaged and their use denied, there has been systematic degradation of the health system.
“It’s hard to say if there’s direct targeting, we are not there to forensically investigate, but what we do know is the health system is on its knees.
"It's degraded so badly over the last few weeks that it's unable to provide for the most basic health needs of its own people."
Palestinians inspect the damage of a destroyed building following Israeli airstrikes on Gaza City, 19-10-2023. Image: AP Photo/Abed KhaledThe system will soon collapse without a ceasefire, according to the leading WHO doctor.
“We’re doing our best with other partners to resupply and bring in medical supplies, but this is a country that has been besieged,” said Dr Ryan.
“How many times in history have you heard of a whole country, a whole population, being surrounded with no water, no food allowed in, and no electricity?
“It’s not just the issue of targeting the system, it’s the lack of supplies, lack of water, lack of food, and then the violence that’s going on in and around those facilities.”
Ceasefire
Dr Ryan said the WHO has called for a ceasefire in Gaza “many times”.
“All wars end and ceasefires come eventually, the issue is we need it now,” he said.
“The timing is so important because the population is so exposed, it’s not just the wounds or casualties, it’s the potential for disease.
“360,000 people have underlying health issues there; 5,500 women give birth every month and it’s the thousands of people who need dialysis and cancer therapy too.”
Galway arson attack
Dr Ryan, who is originally from Sligo, criticised the suspected arson attack on asylum seeker accommodation in Galway over the weekend.
“In no way does what’s happening reflect on what people truly think of Ireland and the Irish people,” he said.
“It’s a great country, a country of peace, justice, and prosperity – full of kind and caring people.
“It is only a few that want to turn those away who are so desperate.”
Fire engulfs Ross Lake House in Rosscahill, County Galway. 17-12-2023.Dr Ryan said Irish people have been in the same boat before.
“Our nation survived because of our capability to go abroad, to go and find the resources we needed to support our people at home.
“Those who move in the world are not moving because they want to, they’re moving because they have to.
“We need to pay back for the millions of people we have sent abroad.”
The Sligo man added that he’s “proud to call Ireland home”.
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Main image: Dr Michael J. Ryan, Executive Director of the World Health Organization Health. 15-02-2020. Image: Tobias Hase/DPA/PA Images
