The World Health Organization (WHO) has delivered its first shipment of medical aid to Gaza since March 2, describing the delivery as urgently needed but vastly insufficient.
The nine-truck convoy, which arrived via the Kerem Shalom crossing on Wednesday, included essential medical supplies, 2,000 units of blood, and 1,500 units of plasma. WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the shipment reached its destination "without any looting incident, despite high-risk conditions."
The supplies are being distributed to priority hospitals, including the Nasser Medical Complex, where the blood and plasma are being stored for onward distribution. Hospitals across Gaza are facing critical shortages amid an influx of injuries, many from attacks on food distribution sites.
Only 17 of Gaza’s 36 hospitals remain even partially functional, according to WHO’s latest figures. Four additional WHO trucks are still at the border, with more on the way, but Tedros emphasized that this aid is “only a drop in the ocean” and urged for the "immediate, unimpeded and sustained delivery of health aid into Gaza through all possible routes."
The delivery comes amid ongoing Israeli military operations in Gaza following the October 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel. While Israel began allowing limited food supplies in late May, most aid had been blocked for over two months, with chaotic and deadly conditions reported at distribution points.
The nine-truck convoy, which arrived via the Kerem Shalom crossing on Wednesday, included essential medical supplies, 2,000 units of blood, and 1,500 units of plasma. WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the shipment reached its destination "without any looting incident, despite high-risk conditions."
The supplies are being distributed to priority hospitals, including the Nasser Medical Complex, where the blood and plasma are being stored for onward distribution. Hospitals across Gaza are facing critical shortages amid an influx of injuries, many from attacks on food distribution sites.
Only 17 of Gaza’s 36 hospitals remain even partially functional, according to WHO’s latest figures. Four additional WHO trucks are still at the border, with more on the way, but Tedros emphasized that this aid is “only a drop in the ocean” and urged for the "immediate, unimpeded and sustained delivery of health aid into Gaza through all possible routes."
The delivery comes amid ongoing Israeli military operations in Gaza following the October 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel. While Israel began allowing limited food supplies in late May, most aid had been blocked for over two months, with chaotic and deadly conditions reported at distribution points.
