The World Health Organization warned on Thursday of the worsening collapse of the health and humanitarian sectors in the Palestinian territories, describing conditions in Gaza Strip, the West Bank and occupied East Jerusalem as a “severe tragedy.”
In a statement issued by the WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean, Regional Director Hanan Balkhy said that since October 2023 more than 72,000 people had been killed and around 182,000 injured, with nearly 26,000 additional deaths reported during 2025 alone.
Balkhy said that despite the ceasefire announced in October 2025, civilians continue to be killed, humanitarian access remains restricted and health services remain severely disrupted.
According to the WHO, no hospital in Gaza is currently fully operational, while northern Gaza no longer has any functioning hospitals.
The organisation added that more than half of essential medicines are out of stock and thousands of patients still require urgent medical evacuation.
