WHO warns Gaza hospitals near collapse as Gaza City assault deepens

The World Health Organization and Gaza health authorities warned on Thursday that hospitals across Gaza are collapsing as Israeli forces press a deepening ground assault on Gaza City, forcing hundreds of thousands to flee and cutting off access to medical care. The warnings came as Israeli tanks and warplanes intensified strikes on northern neighborhoods and humanitarian infrastructure, and as aid deliveries and communications were disrupted across the besieged enclave.

WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the assault, currently centred on Gaza City, has driven new waves of displacement into an ever shrinking area that is unfit for human dignity and is pushing hospitals to the brink. "The injured and people with disabilities cannot move to safety," he said, calling for an immediate end to what he described as inhumane conditions and for a ceasefire. Gaza health officials reported that at least two major hospitals in Gaza City remain only partially functional, and that several other facilities including Al Rantisi Pediatric Hospital and the Specialized Eye Hospital have been forced to suspend operations after nearby strikes.

Accounts from medical staff and...