Staying in Deir al-Balah, and The World Health Organization’s (WHO) staff residence and main warehouse were attacked by the Israeli military on Monday, the organization said.
Israeli tanks rolled into the central Gazan city on Monday, for the first time since the start of the 21-month war, according to media reports.
WHO’s main warehouse was damaged after an attack caused explosions and fire inside it, the organization said, as “part of a pattern of systematic destruction of health facilities.” The warehouse was later looted by “desperate crowds,” according to a WHO statement published Monday.
CNN has reached out to the Israel Defense Forces for comment.
The WHO staff residence was also attacked three times, it said, with staff members and their families, including children, “exposed to grave danger and traumatized after airstrikes caused a fire and significant damage.”
Women and children were forced to evacuate the premises by Israeli troops, while the men were “handcuffed, stripped, interrogated on the spot, and screened at gunpoint,” according to WHO.
Four people were detained by Israeli forces, with three later being released, it said.
“With the main warehouse nonfunctional and the majority of medical supplies in Gaza depleted, WHO is severely constrained in adequately supporting hospitals, emergency medical teams and health partners, already critically short on medicines, fuel, and equipment,” the organization said.
The location of all WHO premises are known to all relevant parties to the conflict, it continued, adding that the WHO will remain in Deir al-Balah to “deliver and expand its operations.”
“WHO is appalled by the dangerous conditions under which humanitarians and health workers are forced to operate. As the security situation and access continue to deteriorate, red lines are repeatedly crossed, and humanitarian operations pushed into an ever-shrinking space to respond,” it said, calling for the release of its staff member, the protection of its staff and premises, and for humanitarian aid to be allowed into the Gaza Strip unimpeded.
