By Palestine Chronicle Staff
Oct 24, 2025
According to the Health Cluster, children in Gaza now account for 23 percent of amputations.
The WHO chief says the demands on the health system “are huge, but significant parts of the system have been destroyed or badly degraded.”
The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that the crisis in Gaza “is far from over and the needs are immense” despite the fragile ceasefire.
“More than 170,000 people have injuries in Gaza, including more than 5,000 amputees and 3,600 people with major burns,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at a press briefing on Thursday.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has said it has seen little improvement in the amount of aid entering Gaza since the ceasefire took effect, and that there has been no reduction in hunger across the Strip.
WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus emphasised that the situation… pic.twitter.com/L0CJsT0cBF
— Middle East Eye (@MiddleEastEye) October 23, 2025
He stressed that at least 42,000 people have injuries that require long-term rehabilitation, while 4,000 women give birth in unsafe conditions every month.
“Hunger and disease have not stopped, and children’s lives are still at risk,” Dr. Tedros said, despite the entry of humanitarian aid.
He pointed out that the destruction in Gaza has not only been physical, “but also psychological,” with an estimated one million people requiring access to mental health care.
‘No Fully Functioning’ Hospitals
The demands on the health system “are huge, but significant parts of the system have been destroyed or badly degraded,” Dr. Tedros stated, adding that there there “are no fully functioning hospitals in Gaza,” with only 14 out of 36 hospitals “functioning at all.”
There are also “critical shortages” of essential medicines, equipment, and health workers.
‘The health situation in #Gaza is a crisis for generations to come’
— @DrTedros in his latest interview with @annaefoster and @BBCr4today pic.twitter.com/XwBtVs11jb
— World Health Organization (WHO) (@WHO) October 23, 2025
This week, the WHO also supported the medical evaucations of 41 patients and 145 companions to several countries.
“However, there are still 15,000 patients who need treatment outside Gaza, including 4,000 children. More than 700 have died while waiting for evacuation,” he stated.
Dr. Tedros called for “the restoration of referrals” to the West Bank, including Jerusalem, as well as for more countries to receive patients from Gaza for specialized care.
Call for Crossings to be Opened
He said the WHO also called the Rafah crossing “and all crossings to be opened to allow more patients to be treated in Egypt and to enable the scale up of aid.”
Although aid has increased, he noted, “it’s still only a fraction of what’s needed.”
“The Rafah crossing was supposed to be opened last week. A significant amount of aid has built up at Al Arsh in Egypt that’s ready to enter Gaza as soon as the crossing is opened,” he stated.
Farhan Haq, the UN Secretary-General’s deputy spokesperson, told Al Jazeera that Israel has not allowed more than 600 UN aid trucks into Gaza on any single day since the ceasefire began.
He emphasized that the UN has urged Israeli authorities to open more crossing points for… pic.twitter.com/93Q2d3HAXC
— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) October 24, 2025
The Government Media Office reported on Wednesday that only 986 aid trucks have entered Gaza since the ceasefire began, significantly below the 6,600 expected.
“The daily average is 89 trucks, compared to the required 600. This limited entry, which included only 14 cooking gas and 28 diesel trucks, reflects the occupation’s continued policy of strangulation and humanitarian extortion against the population of Gaza,” the Media Office said in a statement.
Four Key Areas
Dr. Tedros explained that while the WHO is focused on responding to current health needs on the ground, the organization was also working with partners to plan for the long-term recovery and reconstruction of Gaza’s health system.
Over the next days and weeks, WHO will focus on four areas, he noted.
“First, maintaining life-saving and life-sustaining essential health services. Second, strengthening public health intelligence, early warning and prevention and control of communicable diseases. Third, coordinating health partners, and fourth, supporting the recovery, rehabilitation, and reconstruction of the health system,” Dr. Tedros stated.
The WHO’s 60-day ceasefire plan “asks for $45 million, but the total cost for rebuilding Gaza cell system will be at least 7 billion US,” he continued.
He emphasized that “WHO was in Gaza before the war started. We have been there throughout and we will stay there to help the people of Gaza build a healthier, safer and fairer future.”
Staggering Death Toll
Starting on October 7, 2023, the Israeli military, with American support, launched a genocidal war against the people of Gaza. This campaign has so far resulted in the deaths of over 68,000 Palestinians, with more than 170,000 wounded. The vast majority of the population has been displaced, and the destruction of infrastructure is unprecedented since World War II. Thousands of people are still missing.
In addition to the military assault, the Israeli blockade has caused a man-made famine, leading to the deaths of hundreds of Palestinians—mostly children—with hundreds of thousands more at risk.
The remains of more than 100 members of the Shuhaiber family were recovered this morning from a mass grave in Gaza City’s Al-Zaytoun neighborhood and laid to rest in a proper cemetery.
They were killed in a devastating Israeli airstrike in November 2023, and were buried… pic.twitter.com/A48Q3rnhqr
— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) October 24, 2025
Since the US-brokered ceasefire came into effect on October 10, Israel has killed close to 100 Palestinians and injured 230 others in 80 violations of the ceasefire.
Despite widespread international condemnation, little has been done to hold Israel accountable. The nation is currently under investigation for genocide by the International Court of Justice, while accused war criminals, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, are officially wanted by the International Criminal Court.
(The Palestine Chronicle)
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