Latest Gaza evacuation order will affect life-saving care: WHO
A new evacuation order in Gaza will "further impede delivery of very limited life-saving care," the World Health Organization said Monday.
The Israel Defense Forces issued an evacuation order in Gaza City on Monday, telling people to go to designated safe zones.
Al-Ahli and Patients' Friendly hospitals are now "out of service," with some patients referred to hospitals that are experiencing shortages of beds and medical supplies, according to WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. Multiple health care centers are also located within the evacuation zone, while three hospitals are close by, he said.
"These key hospitals and medical facilities could quickly become non-functional due to hostilities in their vicinity or obstruction to access," he said in a statement.
The IDF said Monday it launched a "counterterrorism operation in Gaza City targeting Hamas and Islamic Jihad infrastructure."
"Civilians were warned and a route was opened for their safe evacuation," the IDF said.