On X, WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus accused Israel´s Army of precluding a WHO team from entering the hospital and “assessing health conditions of patients and critical medical needs”.
Some 200 patients still remain hospitalized, at least 20 of them need to be urgently taken to other hospitals for immediate healthcare, Ghebreyesus warned.
“The cost of delays will be paid by patients´ lives,” Adhanom Ghebreyesus added.
Ghebreyesus’s backlash coincided with Palestinian press reports of the arrest of Atef al-Lahut, director of Nasser Hospital, by Israel Defense Forces (IDF) troops.
Al Jazeera TV revealed on Saturday that IDF blocked two trucks loaded with medical supplies and fuel sent to the hospital.
This action by the military threatens the lives of hundreds of people trapped inside, including babies in incubators and patients in ICU unit.
The complaint coincided with an army statement on Saturday about the arrest inside the medical complex of more than 100 people in recent days.
According to the IDF text, the detainees, who include medical staff and patients, are suspected terrorists, accusations rejected by Palestinian authorities.
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