WHO says 94 percent of hospitals in Gaza have been damaged or destroyed

The World Health Organisation (WHO) warned that the intensification of Israeli attacks on Gaza has brought its health system to a breaking point, with at least 94 percent of the hospitals in Gaza now damaged or destroyed, and half of them no longer operational, in a press release on Thursday.

The warning came following Israeli air strikes on Al Awda hospital, in north Gaza, where patient triage tents - including one provided by WHO - caught fire, burning all medical supplies in the warehouse and destroying vehicles in the basement. 

WHO could not reach the hospital, and sources there told WHO on Friday that the fire had not been fully extinguished. 

Over the past week alone, four major hospitals have had to suspend medical services because of hostilities, attacks or displacement orders in their areas, including Kamal Adwan, Indonesia, Hamad and European Gaza hospitals.

WHO says that four percent of almost 700 attacks on Gaza’s healthcare system since October 2023 were recorded over the past week alone, which is the equivalent of 28 attacks - four times the average number of attacks - per day.