UNITED NATIONS, Nov. 12 (Xinhua) -- Two senior UN officials voiced concern over Thursday's deadly airstrike on Nasser Hospital in Gaza.
Ramiz Alakbarov, the UN humanitarian coordinator for the occupied Palestinian territory, said Thursday he was deeply alarmed by the Israeli airstrike, which killed six people, injured 27 others and caused extensive damage to the facility.
Alakbarov noted that, under international humanitarian law, all parties must protect and respect medical personnel and medical facilities, including hospitals, and such facilities must not be targeted or used for military purposes.
He said the ongoing violence exacerbates the immense human suffering in Gaza and jeopardizes the increasingly fragile ceasefire.
Alakbarov reiterated his call for rapid, safe and unimpeded access for humanitarian assistance, including the entry of durable shelter materials and winterization items, to ease the population's suffering as the coldest months approach.
World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Gaza's health facilities are lifelines for its people that must be protected and never militarized or attacked.
"The best medicine is peace," he said.
The WHO said it has documented more than 1,000 attacks on health care in Gaza since October 2023, resulting in deaths, injuries and damaged facilities.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said that humanitarian partners continue to respond to the impact of the heavy rains that hit Gaza last weekend.
The office said its partners removed standing water, dug drainage channels and cleaned affected areas. The start of the rainy season is expected to last several months. Across Gaza, families are exposed to standing water contaminated by sewage from damaged networks in displacement sites and low-lying areas.
"The available dewatering pumps, sandbags and other materials and equipment are not enough to cover all needs," OCHA said. "Essential laboratory supplies and medical equipment continue to be denied entry, hindering early detection and response to disease outbreaks, a risk that significantly grows during winter."
OCHA said humanitarians continue to call for lifting restrictions and bottlenecks that prevent the expedited entry of humanitarian supplies into Gaza, including tents, cement, warm clothes, blankets and sandbags, as well as pumps, generators, fuel, engine oil and spare parts.
"Also needed is equipment to pump out water, remove debris and clear explosive ordnance; and medicines and vaccines for the winter," the office said.
As of Wednesday, partners had provided tents, tarpaulins, blankets and other essential supplies to about 1,800 families, or roughly one-third of the approximately 5,200 families whose immediate needs were assessed. ■
