Portugal Colonial - WHO chief says continuous medical aid into Gaza 'critical'

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the UN health agency had moved 10 trucks from El-Arish in Egypt to Israel's Kerem Shalom border crossing into the Gaza Strip.

The trucks are carrying "essential medicines, laboratory and water testing supplies", he said, with two additional trucks with medical supplies, along with 12 pallets of blood products, expected to join them on Thursday.

"All WHO supplies will then be moved into Gaza, along with three trucks with medical supplies from health partners," Tedros said on X.

"The health needs in Gaza are immense. A continuous flow of medical supplies is critical.

"We continue to call for sustained, safe, and unhindered access for medical aid into and across Gaza and for a ceasefire. Peace is the best medicine."

Israel imposed a total blockade on Gaza on March 2 after ceasefire talks broke down. In late May, it began allowing a small trickle of aid to resume, amid warnings of a wave of starvation.

This week, Israel launched daily pauses in its military operations in some parts of Gaza and opened secure routes to enable UN agencies and other aid groups to distribute food in the densely populated territory of more than two million.

The WHO says that in Gaza, airstrikes and a lack of medical supplies, food, water and fuel have "virtually depleted" the under-resourced health system, with many hospitals out of operation and others barely functioning.

The provision of essential health services -- from maternal and newborn care to treatment for chronic conditions -- has been "severely compromised", the UN health agency it says.

A WHO spokesman told AFP that nine of the agency's trucks had gone into Gaza on June 25; four on June 28; 11 on July 8; and six more on July 20.

"None of the trucks were looted since we resumed supplies," he added.

T.Vitorino--PC