WHO: Forced evacuation of Gaza patients could be death sentence
Forced evacuation of thousands of patients from northern Gaza to overwhelmed southern units could be "tantamount to a death sentence," the World Health Organization (WHO) warned Saturday, AFP and Agerpres reported.
In anticipation of a ground intervention against Hamas, the Israeli army has ordered all residents of the northern territory, including the sick and wounded, to go south.
"WHO strongly condemns Israel's repeated orders to evacuate 22 hospitals treating over 2,000 patients from northern Gaza," the UN agency said in a statement issued from its headquarters in Geneva.
Moving 2,000 patients to southern Gaza, "where health units are already at maximum capacity and cannot absorb a significant increase in the number of patients, could be tantamount to a death sentence," WHO underlined, adding that "the forced evacuation of patients and health workers will further worsen the current humanitarian and public health catastrophe."
At least 1,300 people, mostly civilians, have been killed in Israel since the Hamas attack on October 7, according to Israeli authorities, and at least 120 people are being held hostage by the Palestinian Islamist movement.
On the other hand, the Israeli response has killed over 2,200 people in the Gaza Strip, and over 8,700 have been injured, according to Hamas.
Translation by Iurie Tataru
