The World Health Organization (WHO) has stated that moving the most vulnerable patients from Gaza’s Al-Shifa hospital is an “impossible task.” The WHO emphasized that evacuating these patients would likely result in deaths, as they are already in critical condition. The organization argued that hospitals should be safe havens and not subjected to attacks, emphasizing the principles of international humanitarian law.
The Israeli mission in Geneva criticized the WHO, along with the UN humanitarian agency OCHA and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), for their stance on Israel’s call for civilians and patients to leave Al-Shifa hospital. The mission claimed that the international community could have facilitated patient transfers but chose to criticize Israel instead.
The WHO countered by emphasizing the vulnerability of patients in the hospital and the impracticality of moving them. They expressed concern that such actions would be tantamount to asking healthcare professionals to move patients, knowing it could lead to fatalities. The WHO reiterated the importance of hospitals as safe places under international humanitarian law.
