Tedros lamented that “the entire healthcare system in Gaza has been under attack for over a year” since Hamas attacks inside Israel on October 7, 2023 triggered the war.

According to official Israeli figures from AFP, this attack resulted in the deaths of 1,206 people, most of them civilians. Dozens of hostages are still held by militants in Gaza.

Israel’s retaliatory campaign has killed 42,924 people in Gaza, the majority of them civilians, according to figures from the Hamas-ruled territory’s health ministry deemed reliable by the United Nations.

“WHO cannot emphasize loudly enough that hospitals must always be protected from conflict,” Tedros said, adding that “any attack on healthcare facilities is a violation of international humanitarian law.”

“An immediate and unconditional ceasefire is the only way to preserve what’s left of Gaza’s collapsing health system.”